CHOCO-MINT CROISSANT BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING, an Indulgence, easy-peasy

Here's one of the most glorious desserts ever, ideal for the Christmas season...

Chocolate-Mint Croissant Bread & Butter Pudding: Ambrosial
'Wow! Excellent, really good.' 'Very chocolatey; it's nicely crusty & chewy.' 
'A great office hit!' Tasters

67's wonderful Chocolate Bread & Butter pudding replaces bread with croissants and has a peppermint twist.  It's rich, light and gooey with a crispy top; the heady scents of chocolate and mint may well send guests into raptures.  Truly. 

It's sort-of frugal, too.  Though 67 used supermarket croissants, all those bits of bread left over from Christmas (stale or frozen) can be used up instead.  Or even a mix of the two.  

The pudding's very easy to make and sits in the fridge, ideally 2-3 days before baking, for a soft creamy centre.   

It's not healthy.  The pudding contains a great deal of chocolate and cream.  But in its defence, the pudding is the most ambrosial indulgence ever.  

The original recipe* has been in the Blogger's recipe box for years.  It made a perfect dessert for supper pre-Midnight Mass (with leftovers for breakfast for those who couldn't get enough).  It would also make a fitting farewell-to-the-old-year treat.  

The pudding is very rich; keep portions small and it will go further.  

Cost: £4 (not incl. bread if you have to buy it)
Serves: many

Ingred: 
    8 packaged supermarket croissants (pref reduced fat) or 10 slices stale bread from a large loaf (about 300gm/10.5oz in total)
   
   150gm/5oz 70%-plus dark baking chocolate
   425ml/15fl oz whipping cream
      4 tbsp brandy or rum or white grape juice
   min100-max110gm/3.5-4oz soft brown sugar
   75gm/3oz unsalted butter
   
   3 large eggs
   1 tsp essence of peppermint (most supermarkets)

   12 chocolate covered peppermint thins**


Method:

1. Lightly butter a 9x13inch/23x33cm pan, 2in/5cm deep
2. Bring a med pot of water to a boil; reduce heat until just simmering
3. Mix chocolate, butter, whipping cream, brandy & sugar in a heatproof bowl and place bowl over but not touching the water; stir occasionally

   

   Sliced Croissants

    
4. Slice croissants sideways in three, then half; if using bread, cut each slice into 4 triangles
5. When butter & chocolate have melted & sugar has dissolved (3-4 mins); take bowl off heat & give it a good stir; cool until no longer hot but still warm; stir in peppermint essence
6. Using a whisk or electric beaters, beat eggs in a separate bowl
7. Pour a little of the warm chocolate into the eggs; blend  
8. Pour the rest of the chocolate into the egg mix, whisking continuously and occasionally scraping at the sides with a spatula, to make sure everything is throughly incorporated
9. Pour a 1/2in/1cm layer of chocolate into the pan; arrange half the bread in overlapping pieces on top 
10. Pour just under half the chocolate mix on top in an even layer
11. Arrange the rest of the bread on top; then add the remaining chocolate
12. Use spatula to press down gently on the bread
13. Cover with clingfilm; rest at room temp 2 hours.
14. Refrigerate at least 2, at best 3 days to ensure creamy soft inside
15. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 180c/350g/gas4
16. Cut peppermints in quarters; push the points into the top of the pudding leaving the edges poking up slightly
17. Bake in the top of the oven 30-35mins; top should be crunchy
18. Rest 10 mins 
19. Serve with double cream or ice cream

Comments:

• 'Very chocolatey.  Lovely consistency; peppermint not too strong; nice mix of crusty & chewy.  Benefits enormously from being eaten warm.' Political agent
• 'Wow!  Excellent; really good. I like the chewiness and the mint is very nice.' 20-something political fund-raiser
• 'It's been a great office hit.  Kate & Maria loved it!  It's good cold but better hot.'  Political Agent (a few hours later)

Tips:

• 67 moved the pudding from the top to the middle shelf 2/3 of the way through the cooking time; the new oven seemed to be cooking it rather fast 
• for wheat free, use bread made with spelt or other non-wheat flour
• an orange version can be made with essence of orange instead of peppermint, and orange flavoured chocolate pieces 

  More cake recipes on NavBar/Recipes I/Baking 

*adapted from  Larkin Warren at Martha's Vineyard

                                                                                       **After Eights or Morrisons Thins

This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.