Bittersweet Chocolate Sour Cherry Bread Puddings

Newsflash! Croissants are good for more than breakfast and what better way to use up some decidedly stale croissants than to make a luscious, creamy, buttery bread pudding.

 
Our sweet treat for the week, this was not just any old run of the mill bread pudding, if there is such a thing. Other than being loaded with buttery croissants, eggs, sugar, cream and some of my homemade vanilla, it had other redeeming qualities - like say bittersweet chocolate, dried sour cherries and a dusting of chopped pecans....that's "pecawns" people. Pee cans are under the bed. I just had to throw that one in cause it's one of the many funnies my cousin Vic used to say to make me laugh and I've never forgotten it.

By the way, if you can't find dried cherries, use dried cranberries (craisins) instead, just skip the boiling water bit. As for the bittersweet chocolate - do not use unsweetened; however, you could substitute semi sweet and by stale croissants, I mean at least day old or even two. You don't want them to be hard as rocks, just not super fresh. 

Anyway, Betty P - if you think Brian liked the Pumpkin version with Caramel Sauce and absolutely "lurved" the Lemon Bread Pudding, I dare say he's gonna do cartwheels and back flips for this one. Let me know, OK?

Croissant Bread Pudding with Bittersweet Chocolate & Sour Cherries (from JBug’s Kitchen)

3 large stale croissants broken into bite sized pieces (about 6 cups)

3 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup half and half

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dried sour cherries

1/4 cup chopped pecans

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into small pieces

Spray six 6 ounce ramekins or one 9” casserole with cooking spray. Set aside. Cover sour cherries with boiling water and let sit for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Beat together eggs, granulated sugar, cream, half and half, vanilla and salt until well blended. Stir in croissant pieces. Cover bowl and refrigerate for minimum 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350. Fill casserole or individual ramekins half full with mixture. Sprinkle cherries on top, dividing evenly among ramekins. Scatter with chocolate pieces, saving some for the top. Cover with remaining croissant/custard mixture. Tuck in remaining pieces of chocolate. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Bake for 40 minutes or until knife inserted into middle comes out slightly wet. Puddings should be puffed and golden but have some “jiggle” left. Serve warm with or without whipped cream.   Download Croissant Bread Pudding with Bittersweet Chocolate

 

 

Comments

[Sarah G]

This is very decadent! Great combination.

[June]

Thanks Sarah. It sure did taste like more!

[Nanan]

Now that is one bread pudding that has all of my favorite flavors - croissants - dark chocolate, cherries, and Pecans - (Thank you - thank you - thank you for pronouncing it correctly!!!!!!!! I have a pecan tree in my front yard - it has been there my entire life - I love those things and HATE it when people pronounce it like something resembling human waste!) SCORE!!!!!

[June]

Lea - it is incredibly rich & wonderful, in fact I'd say it's better than ice cream and you all know how much I love that stuff! The big guy says he figures stale beignets would be fabulous too...now isn't that just something? Talk about out of the mouth of "babes". You try it and let us know, OK?

[pam]

I adore bread puddings and this combination sounds fantastic!

[June]

Pam - it's amazing how many flavors you can make without repeating, never mind that savory bread puddings are a whole different ballgame too.

[Mags]

What a great way to use up croissants!

And...LOL @ pee cans....HEE!

[June]

Mags - I have to hide the darn croissants from myself to have any left over...trouble is I always know where I've hidden them. Ha.

[Joanne]

OK, you know I had to try this one! It was tough for the breadman to keep the fingers out of the bread for staling purposes - but had enough to make it this afternoon. It is a wonderful mix of favorite stuff how can you go wrong. Thank you ;)

[June]

Joanne - so happy you had a chance to try it and more importantly that you liked it. Thanks so much for leaving a comment! Comments are pure solid GOLD to bloggers.

[Tom @ Tall Clover]

Oh good I'm always looking for a light, low calorie dessert recipe like this. ;-)

[June]

Tom - Hee,hee,hee - now isn't that an oxymoron?

[Betty Prewitt]

I made this for Thanksgiving and I liked it better than the other two. Brian still likes the lemon but thought this was very good. I will try the turkey one after Christmas. I have used most of my turkey up from Thanksgiving.

On another note - I put a roast beef in the crockpot yesterday and after all of the recipes I have made it was quite bland.

[June]

Betty - mmmm crockpot...bland???? LMAO. You know how I feel about crockpots! Get the big guy to show you a pic of my favorite pot - oval, porcelain covered cast iron...heavier than stink and I love the darn thing. He bought it for me for my B'day and I love it more than diamonds, or pearls...but not emeralds. Ha.