Double Sweet Treats to Celebrate My Mom :) - Part 2

So breakfast was a hit, muffins are an easy sweet treat. Dessert was a new challenge all together. My mom has always raved about a good bread pudding. I had never even heard of bread pudding until one day I was being told how great it was by my mom. Since then, Andy and I have tried the bread pudding at claim jumper and jumped (no pun intended) on the bread pudding band wagon. The stuff is good! So my decision was easy - chocolate bread pudding for my mom. She loves chocolate and we all like the bread pudding. Choosing what to make was easy - finding the best recipe was challenging.

I did a food blog search (see link on the right), I Google'd, I tastespotted, and then I combined. :) I found a good recipe on Food Network that said to use Italian bread, but then found a few more that said to use croissants. When I started this blog I vowed never to use an exact recipe that I found, but rather to tweak it in some sort or fashion to make it my own. This situation seemed no different and I had to do some combining of the recipes. The result looked rather interesting (that is baking blogger correct for gross) but tasted delicious. I ended up with a chocolate Kahlua bread pudding. It was rich, tasty, and well liked by all. Here's the recipe I used:

Chocolate Kahlua Bread Pudding

1 (1-pound) Croissants broken into small pieces
3 cups milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Kahlua
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, grated
Whipped cream for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and place the bread in the dish. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, and Kahlua. Using another bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar, and cocoa powder and mix well. Add the sugar mixture to the milk mixture and mix well. Add the vanilla and almond extract, and cinnamon to the beaten eggs. Combine the egg mixture to the milk mixture and mix well.
Stir the grated chocolate into the mixture. Pour the mixture over the cubed bread in the pan. Let the mixture stand, stirring occasionally for approximately 20 minutes or until bread absorbs most of the milk mixture. Bake pudding for 1 hour or until set. Check pudding by inserting a knife through the middle and it should come out clean.

Serve the pudding warm, or refrigerate and serve chilled with whipped cream if desired.

Initially everyone looked twice at the croissants with hesitation about the outcome, but in the end it was agreed that this bread pudding was delicious. Next time I'm ready to add some raisins, nuts, or other goodies to the mixture to give the bread pudding additional texture and flavor. For a first attempt - and a super mom - it was great! It made a sweet ending to the great day celebrating my mom and being home with the family.