Margarita's International Recipes |
I don't know how "Californian" bread pudding is, but I've had it served at several good restaurants in the area. Besides, bread pudding is one of my favorite desserts. The chocolate bread pudding at Adagia, in particular, is out of this world - and while I didn't think I could replicate it, I was willing to give this recipe (from the Napa River Inn) a try. Alas, it was nowhere as good.
The recipe was a lot of work, it required first making the chocolate bread, then toasting it, then making the pudding, and then baking the two together - a whole day affair. I followed it pretty closely, though I had to guess at oven temperatures, as the recipe didn't specify. I also didn't have bittersweet chocolate so I used a combination of semi-sweet and 70% cacao chocolate. I also didn't have cake flour so I used a combination of all-purpose flour and cornstarch - if you have cake flour, use 1 1/4 cups of such. Finally, I substituted half a vanilla bean with 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.
The results were good but not outstanding - it was definitely too much work for what I got at the end. I also don't think that the results are worth the calories. I don't think I'll make it again. But I'll (slowly) eat what I made quite happily.
This recipe makes more pudding that you will need for the bread - I poured the rest into a large ramekin and cooked it along with the bread pudding.
Double Chocolate Bread Pudding
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Adapted from Linda & Steve Baurer Recipes from Historic California: A Restaurant Guide and Cookbook