DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING WITH ALMOND BARK

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING WITH ALMOND BARK image

Number Of Ingredients 31

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Ingredients

Bread Pudding:
1 piece New Orleans-style French bread, day old, about 23 inches long and weighing about 7 1/2 to 8 ounces, cut into .5-inch cubes with crust on
3 cups heavy cream
.5 cup whole milk
1.75 cups sugar, divided
1 each 2-inch-long piece of vanilla bean
3.5 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
8 each eggs, large
1 recipe chocolate sauce, for serving [recipe below]
1 recipe white chocolate sauce, for serving [recipe below]
8 to 12 pieces almond bark, for garnish [recipe below]
Chocolate Sauce
Yields: 1.75 cups
Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
.5 cup sugar
.75 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
White-Chocolate Sauce
Yields: 2 cups
Ingredients
2.5 cups white chocolate chips
1.5 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
Almond Bark
Yields: 2.5 pounds of candy or 40 to 50 rough 2-inch pieces
Ingredients
.5 cup sliced almonds
4 cups fine-quality bittersweet chocolate chips
3 cups fine-quality white chocolate chips

Steps:

Scatter the bread cubes in a 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Set aside. In a heavy 3-quart saucepan, combine the cream, milk, and 1.5 cups sugar. Cut the piece of vanilla bean in half lengthwise, and scrape the tiny beans into the cream mixture. Bring the cream mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, whisking constantly until the sugar dissolves, then whisking occasionally. Add the chocolate chips and continue cooking until the chocolate is melted, about two minutes more, whisking frequently and being sure to scrape the pan bottom clean as you whisk. Remove from heat. In a large mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs until frothy. Very slowly add the chocolate mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly so the eggs don't curdle. Pour this custard mixture over the bread. Let the custard sit until cool enough for you to put your hands in it, about 10 minutes. Once the custard is cool enough, toss the bread cubes with your hands, squeezing the cubes in the liquid to make sure all are well saturated. Cover and refrigerate overnight. About 3 hours before baking the pudding, remove the pan of pudding from the refrigerator, and evenly sprinkle the top with ¼ cup sugar. Let the pudding sit at room temperature for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300°F. Once the pudding has sat 45 minutes, seal the baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake until a toothpick comes out almost clean and the pudding looks solidified with no puddles of liquid on the surface, about 2 hours. Once done, it will also start developing a few small, shallow cracks on top and there will be an irresistible smell of chocolate emanating from the oven. Remove the pudding from the oven & let sit for 15 mins at room temperature. Serving Suggestion: Cut the pudding into 8-12 equal-size rectangles and place on heated dessert plates. Drizzle 2-3 T. of the chocolate sauce on one half of each portion of pudding and the same amount of white chocolate sauce over the other half of the pudding.