Things have gotten busy in my corner, starting with the launch of a food blog with Orange Coast magazine (covering foodthings in Orange County!). Almost exactly on the blog’s launch date, things at my day job swelled, and I’m working longer hours to meet the writing/editing demands. It’s hairy, to say the least.

I’m not at all complaining, though. Life is full right now. But thankfully, it’s full of very, very awesome things.

All of this means I’ve been coming home later than usual. Instead of cooking, I’d much rather order pizza or some Thai, or (ideally) have someone spoon feed me soup or bread pudding for dinner. I specifically say bread pudding because it’s one of the most ultimate comfort foods, one where you don’t have to expel much effort to eat it. Bread pudding requires little chewing, if any at all. And right off of the spoon, it slithers down the back of your throat in a savory mush that warms your insides in a medicinal sort of way. (I underbake it just to experience this exact sensation every time.) Other mushy foods like mashed potatoes and guacamole tend to stick to the roof of your mouth, but bread pudding seems to know where it’s going right from the get-go.  You spoon it in,  and down it goes without any resistance at all. And it’s got chutzpah: If it could, I bet the it would make it’s own little slurping noises when you swallow it.

I bought Sunday Suppers at Lucques at the Los Angeles Times book fair a few years ago. Chef Suzanne Goin was perched in a booth signing books for a line that was at least 45 minutes long. After she signed mine, I sat on the grass and flipped through it, almost immediately landing on this recipe for caramelized bread pudding with chocolate and cinnamon. With that page alone, Goin made me a fan.

Now, if only someone would make this bread pudding for me before I summon the pizza guy. (Click on “Read the rest of this entry” for recipe)

Note: The recipe’s procedure is rewritten to reflect how I prepared the dish. For the original recipe, you can turn to page 353 in Sunday Suppers, or click on this link to the New York Times, where the recipe was published in 2003.

Other changes: I used 8 slices of French bread instead of broiche because the former was selling for cheaper. I cubed the bread into 1-inch cubes, so that the pieces would be bite-sized and a little more mushier than the original recipe. The pudding turned out really well, though if you have a sweet tooth you may want to stick with the brioche. Also, instead of the chopped bittersweet chocolate, I just used Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips to save myself a step.

CARAMELIZED CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING

Adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin and Teri Gelber

Yield: 6 servings

• 5 to 6 1/2-inch-thick slices brioche
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 ounces best quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 4 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon raw sugar (optional)

PROCEDURE:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a pot, bring some water to a boil. The water will be used later to create a bain marie for the bread pudding. Place a large roasting pan in the oven.
2. Cube bread and place in a greased 10-inch cake pan with 4-inch sides (or the pan of your choosing). In a microwave-safe measuring cup, melt butter. Pour butter over bread cubes and toss to coat. Add chocolate chips and toss to distribute.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, heavy cream, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour custard on top of bread, and toss to coat. Make sure you have coated all of the bread cubes.
4. When water comes to a boil, place bread pudding pan inside the roasting pan in oven and pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of casserole. Bake until custard is just set, about 40 minutes to 1 hour. Pudding is done when bread in center puffs up and springs to the touch.
OPTIONAL STEP: If you have a kitchen blowtorch, sprinkle the tablespoon of raw sugar over top of pudding, and use torch to lightly caramelize sugar. If you do not have a blowtorch, skip this step (a broiler will curdle custard). Pudding should be served warm. Serve with ice cream!

– Cynthia Furey

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 at 8:48 pm and is filed under Baking/desserts, Custards, In the kitchen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.