Recipe#9234

Title: Bread Pudding 35

From: S F HOLFORD sfholford@brownswell.demon.co.uk 
 Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes 
 Subject: Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding 
 Date: 4 Jan 1998 09:44:43 -0700 
 Message-ID: ZaAv0IALwTr0Iwah@brownswell.demon.co.uk 

9 slices, each 0.25 inch (5mm) thick, good quality white bread, 1 day
 old, taken from a large loaf
 5 oz (150g) dark chocolate with 75 percent cocoa solids
 15 fl oz (425 ml) whipping cream
 4 tablespoons dark rum
 4 oz (110 g) caster sugar (US superfine, but granulated will do)
 3 oz (75 g) butter
 A good pinch of cinnamon
 3 x large eggs
 To serve: double (heavy) cream, well chilled
 You will also need a shallow ovenproof dish 7 x 9 inches (18 x 23 cm)
 base x 2 inches (5 cm) deep, lightly buttered.
 Begin by removing the crusts from the slices of bread, which should
 leave you with approximately 9 x 4 inch (10 cm) squares.  So now cut
 each slice into 4 triangles.  Next place the chocolate, whipping cream,
 rum, sugar, butter and cinnamon in a bowl set over a saucepan of barely
 simmering water, being careful not to let the bowl touch the water, then
 wait until the butter and chocolate have melted and the sugar has
 completely dissolved.  Next remove the bowl from the heat and give it a
 really good stir to amalgamate all the ingredients.
 Now in a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and then pour the chocolate
 mixture over them and whisk again very thoroughly to blend them
 together.
 Then spoon about a half inch (1 cm) layer of the chocolate mixture into
 the base of the dish and arrange half the bread triangles over the
 chocolate in overlapping rows.  Now pour half the remaining chocolate
 mixture all over the bread as evenly as possible then arrange the rest
 of the triangles over that, finishing off with a layer of chocolate.
 Use a fork to press the bread gently down so that it gets covered very
 evenly with the liquid as it cools.
 Cover the dish with clingfilm (plastic food wrap) and allow to stand at
 room temperature for 2 hours before transferring it to the fridge for a
 minimum of 24 (but preferably 48) hours before cooking.  When you're
 ready to cook the pudding, preheat the oven to 350F (180C).  Remove the
 clingfilm and bake in the oven on a high shelf for 30-35 minutes, by
 which time the top will be crunchy and the inside soft and squidgy.
 Leave it to stand for 10 minutes before serving with well-chilled double
 (heavy) cream poured over.
 If you were feeling really sinful, you could grate some more chocolate
 over the top and pop it under the broiler for a few seconds just to melt
 the chocolate.