Bear Cuisine

Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding

I am not, customarily, a dessert enthusiast. The one exception, however, is Bread Pudding. If it's on the menu, I have to try it. My resolve not to eat sweets completely disappears if Bread Pudding is offered. So, you can imagine my delight when Chef Charles Dale showed up with a recipe for the Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding. It is the perfect combination of Creme Brulee and pudding. Easy to make into the bargain.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY BREAD PUDDING

(serves 8)

• 1/2 cup sun-dried cherries
• 1/2 cup Kirsch

 

• 8 ounces Bittersweet chocolate, broken into chunks

 

• 1 pound white country bread, in chunks or sliced baguette
• 4 tablespoons butter at room temperature

 

• 5 cups milk
• 6 eggs plus two yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Soak cherries in the Kirsch for one hour. Strain. Scatter the cherries in the bottom of a 2-quart souffle mold or in 8 individual 8 ounce ramekins. Lightly butter the bread and arrange over the cherries. Scatter the bitterswet chocolate chunks over the bread.

Warm the milk in a saucepan and whisk in the sugar and the vanilla extract. Whisk the whole eggs and the two egg yolks together, then pour the warm milk over the eggs and whisk to fully incorporate. Pour the entire mixture over the chocolate, bread and cherries in the mold(s) and place the mold(s) in a water bath and into the oven.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until set. You will know the pudding is set when it barely moves when shaken. Remove from the oven and the water bath and cool to room temperature. This pudding is best served slightly warm. Put it into a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes prior to serving.

Johnny Vee and Charles Dale

The Proof is in the Pudding

When I plan a meal, I don't really think much about dessert. Its usually an afterthought and a very brief one at that. Others in the family don't share my disregard. For them dessert is the whole reason to eat the rest of the meal. Actually, they could happily skip the main course and just eat the finale. I can tell that they feel slighted in my menu composition.

So, when a request was made for Chocolate Mousse over the Christmas holiday, I attempted to make up for my dessert failings and promptly set out to find a recipe for this classic. My stained, dog-eared copy of The Silver Palate offered a luxurious sounding version and it was surprisingly easy to make. I cut the recipe in half and it turned out perfectly.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

1. 11/2 pounds semisweet chocolate chips
2. 1/2 cup prepared espresso cofee
3. 1/2 cup Grand Marnier*
4. 4 egg yolks
5. 2 cups heavy cream, chilled
6. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
7. 8 egg whites
8. pinch of salt
9. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt chocolate chips in a heavy saucepan over very low heat, stirring; add espresso coffee, then stir in Grand Marnier. Let cool to room temperature.

Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.

Whip one cup of the cream until thickened, then gradually beat in sugar, beating until stiff. Beat egg whites with salt until stiff. Gently fold egg whites into cream.

Stir about one third of cream and egg mixture thoroughly into chocolate mixture. Then scrape remaining cream and egg mixture over lighted chocolate base and fold together gently. Pour into 8 individual dessert cups or a serving bowl. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until set.

At serving time, whip remaining cup of cream until thickened, add vanilla and whip to soft peaks. Top each portion of the mousse with a share of the cream.

*May substitute Triple Sec.

 

I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, but I offer the following as proof that this was completely scrumptious.

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Olive oil sounds as if it wouldn't be such a great ingredient for a cake. Believe me this is one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever eaten-moist, dense and so, so chocolaty. When I say this is a great cake, believe me. Usually, I don't even like cake and I couldn't stop eating this one. Before I forget this is another of Christine Hickman's recipes. What a treasure she is.

CHOCOLATE OLIVE OIL CAKE*

1. 4 cups unbleached all=purpose flour
2. 2 cups sugar
3. 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
4. 1 teaspoons baking soda
5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
6. 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
7. 1 tablespoon white vinegar
8. 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
9. 2 cups cold water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour 2 9-inch cake or spring form pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer. With a hand mixer or the standing mixer on low speed, beat in the oil, vinegar, vanilla and water until smooth. Pour the mixture into the prepared pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake. The cake should be firm to the touch.

Place the cake pans on cooking racks and cool for 15 to 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pans to cool completely.

Makes 2 9-inch layers.

* This recipe is for high-altitude cooking. (Santa Fe is at 7000 feet above sea level.) At sea level, use 2 teaspoons baking soda and 2 tablespoons white vinegar. Decrease flour to 3 1/2 cups.

I frosted the cake with Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting from Anne Byrn's The Cake Mix Doctor. Not too sweet with just a hint of tanginess from the sour cream. Perfect for this cake.

SOUR CREAM CHOCOLATE FROSTING

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, finally chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 21/4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan and melt over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir the mixture until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Let cool slightly, then stir in the sour cream.

Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl With an electric mixer on low speed, add half the confectioner's sugar and 1 tablespoon hot water, beating to incorporate. Then add the remaining sugar and water and continue beating until the frosting comes together into a spreadable consistency without lumps. Stop the machine, add the vanilla, and blend well, 30 seconds.

Use at once.

 This was all that was left after our dinner party

Chocolate Day

A post about Chocolate Day could go on forever, but I will restrict myself to a single, recently-discovered recipe for Chocolate Muffins. 

CHOCOLATE BREAKFAST MUFFINS

1. 2/3 cup cocoa,Dutch-process or natural
   
2. 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
   
3. 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
   
4. 1 teaspoon baking powder
   
5. 1 teaspoon baking soda
   
6. 3/4 teaspoon salt
   
7. 1 cup chocolate chips
   
8. 2 large eggs
   
9. 1 cup milk
   
10. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    
11. 2 teaspoons vinegar
    
12. 8 tablespoons butter, melted
    

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a large measuring cup or medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and vinegar. Add the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, to the dry ingredients, stirring to blend. There's no need to beat these muffins; just make sure everything is well combined.

Scoop the batter into 12 lightly greased muffin cups. Bake the muffins for 15 to 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean (watch them closely, as they'll burn around the edges if they bake too long). Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes remove them from the pan, allowing them to cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.

(from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion)

These make a most decadent and delicious breakfast treat.