Chocolate Brioche Bread Pudding

The best part of this recipe is that I discovered cocoa nibs for the first time! I worked with several different chocolate bread pudding recipes until I finally gave up and pieced this together myself. The combination of the bittersweet chocolate, white chocolate, and cocoa nibs gives this a great chocolate flavor without making it too chocolaty (as if that were even possible).

Chocolate Brioche Bread Pudding

1 Loaf brioche
2 Cups heavy cream
2 Cups milk
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
6 Ounces of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
6 Ounces of white chocolate
8 Large egg yolks
2 Tablespoons cocoa nibs
3/4 Cup sugar

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Cut the brioche into 1 inch cubes. Place the bread cubes into a baking dish.

If you want to be a little fancy in your presentation, reserve the cubes taken from top crust layer of the bread and use those to top the baking pan. This will create a great crust on the final pudding.

Combine the cream, milk, vanilla extract in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Add the chocolate, and whisk until smooth.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a large bowl. Slowly pour the melted chocolate mixture into egg-sugar mixture, whisking constantly, until fully combined.

After all of the chocolate and egg mixture has been combined, pour the mixture over the bread, covering all of the bread. Using the back of a large wooden spoon, firmly press down on the bread to make sure that all of the chocolate mixture is absorbed. Let the bread sit for 30-45 minutes.

If you have a larger baking dish, place the one with the bread pudding in the larger one and place in the oven. Fill the larger dish with enough hot water to go halfway up the side of the smaller dish. Bake the pudding for 30-45 minutes, until it has set. Allow the pudding to cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes, but it is best served hot.

Sprinkle the cocoa nibs on the top of the pudding before serving.

This dish will last for a few days if refrigerated and reheats well.

Jellied Milk

This is a simple recipe that makes a great amuse bouche or palette cleanser in a multi course meal. Of course this would also work as a dessert, but I think that it is more fun in a small portion. I believe this is a very old recipe that comes from england, renowned for their culinary prowess, but does serves as a great example of how delicious things can come from unexpected places.

Depending on what you are serving this with you may want to cut down on the sugar a little bit, as this is a fairly sweet dish. This recipe made enough to serve about 12 portions of the size shown in the picture. I don't have much experience working with gelatin but this is a pretty fool proof recipe.

Jellied Milk

1 Pint milk
5 Teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1/2 Cup sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoons almond extract

Soften the gelatin in 4 Tablespoons of the milk for 5 minutes in a bowl big enough to use as a double boiler. Place bowl with the mixture of milk and gelatin on top of a small pot of very hot, but not boiling, water and stir until the gelatin is fully dissolved.

Heat the remainder of the milk and the sugar in a pot until it simmers. Add the dissolved gelatin/milk mixture and stir continuously for 5 minutes, never going past a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract.

Pour the mixture into a chilled loaf pan and refrigerate for several hours until set.

I found that running hot water over the bottom of the pan made it easier to remove the jellied milk after it had cooled. Cut into rectangles and serve.

Although the almond flavor was a great match with the milk, this recipe would probably also work with any other extract or flavoring that you prefer.