Chocolate-cherry bread pudding is for Valentine's Day

Who couldn’t help notice, starting right after the Christmas holidays, the profusion of red stuff peeking out from shelves in supermarkets, pharmacies, and book stores? We’d hardly had time to put the decorations away when we were bombarded with another reason to celebrate.

But now we’re getting in the mood for Valentine’s Day, which will be here before we know it. For me, the best part of that day is that it’s one more opportunity to feast on chocolate. (Not that we need a reason…) Chocolate kisses wrapped in red foil, assorted chocolates in a big red heart box, and those chocolate covered cherries doused in a lovely liqueur. Just for starters.

So when I spotted this recipe recently, it had Valentine’s Day written all over it. This bread pudding is made from rich croissants, and the custard is studded with chocolate chips and cherries – who could resist this special sweet? It’s from a wonderful cookbook by the name of Upper Crusts - Capital Lifestyles by Sheilah Kaufman, culinary instructor and author of 25 cookbooks. Subtitled: Fabulous Ways to Use Bread. So of course she had to include bread pudding!

In the next few posts, in addition to some other great puddings, we hope to bombard you with recipes for luscious bread puddings to serve for Valentine’s Day. And they just might include chocolate. Here’s to sweet romance!!

CHOCOLATE-CHERRY CROISSANT BREAD PUDDING

1 teaspoon butter
3 stale croissants
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup cream
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon Cassis or vanilla extract

Generously butter a 9x9-inch baking dish.
Cut croissants into 1/2-inch pieces (as best you can) and scatter cubes, chips and cherries into prepared dish.In large bowl, whisk together sugar, cream, eggs and Cassis until sugar dissolves. Pour sugar/cream mixture through sieve into prepared baking dish. Gently push down cubes so that they absorb egg mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.*
Preheat oven to 350°.
Bake for 30 minutes or until center is puffy and golden. Serve hot.
* If in a rush, skip chilling. Instead pour only half the egg mixture in, push down to absorb; wait 5 minutes before pouring on some more but not all, leaving tops of cubes just above the liquid line. Serves 6.
Approximate nutrients per serving: calories, 395; protein 6 g; carbohydrates, 36 g; fat, 26 g; cholesterol, 144 mg; sodium; 188 mg.
(From Upper Crusts - Capital Lifestyles by Sheilah Kaufman, © 2007)

Caramel croissant bread pudding is quick fix

One amazing thing about the Internet is the number of friends you meet from all over the universe. Just plug a hobby (read obsession) into your browser, such as scuba diving, reading mysteries, or, as in my case, making bread pudding, and you have a bunch of fellow enthusiasts knocking at your door. Well, maybe not quite that close, but they’re at least within reaching distance of your computer keyboard.

One such friend is Kathy Jorgensen of California who I met while discussing cookbooks on CookbooksEtCetera, a cookbook collectors’ group on Yahoo. Soon we found we also enjoyed collecting recipes, including some scrumptious desserts, and she shared a recipe she had found for bread pudding made with croissants, bourbon, and an incredible sounding caramel sauce.

And, surprisingly, this pudding is a quick and easy dish for today’s busy cook, created by the popular British cook, Nigella Lawson, also known as the Domestic Goddess (gee whiz, why doesn’t anyone refer to me that way?). Lawson is noted for her hands on, not fussy cooking, and eating well when time is short.

I have to admit this one is in my “to try” pile, and I hope to get to it soon. And with Nigella as a source you can’t go wrong.

CARAMEL CROISSANT PUDDING
(from Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson)
2 stale croissants
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons bourbon (or rum)
2 eggs, beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Tear the croissants into pieces and put in a small gratin dish; I use a cast-iron oval one with a capacity of about 2 cups for this.
3. Put the sugar and water into a saucepan, and swirl around to help dissolve the sugar before putting the saucepan on the burner over medium to high heat.
4. Caramelize the sugar and water mixture by letting it bubble away until it all turns a deep amber color; this will take 3-5 minutes. Keep looking but don't be too timid.
5. Turn heat down to low and add the cream-ignoring all spluttering-and, whisking in the milk and bourbon. Any solid toffee that forms in the pan will dissolve easily if you keep whisking over low heat. Take off the heat and, still whisking, add the beaten eggs. Pour the caramel bourbon over the croissants and leave to steep for 10 minutes if the croissants are very stale.
6. Place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes and prepare to swoon.
Serves 2 greedy people