I don’t think I’m going to have any trouble talking my husband into making this for me for Mother’s Day! It’s from Gale Gand at the Food Network and she says she started making it when she worked in England at the Stapleford Park Hotel. She also points out that using croissants that are a few days old will better absorb the liquids and give you a creamier, flakier dish.

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

4 to 6 croissants, preferably 1 or 2 days old
2 cups half-and- half
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch salt
4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
Vanilla ice cream, for serving, optional

Cut the croissants into 1-inch cubes. You should have about 3 1/2 cups. Place the cubes in an ovenproof baking dish.

In a saucepan, heat the half-and-half, cream, and salt over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to make sure the mixture doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. When the cream mixture reaches a fast simmer (do not let it boil), turn off the heat. Add the chocolate and whisk until melted.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together. Whisking constantly, gradually add the hot chocolate-cream mixture. Strain the mixture over the croissant pieces and toss lightly. Let sit while the mixture is absorbed, at least 15 minutes. As it soaks, fold the mixture a few times to ensure even soaking.

When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a roasting pan that’s 2 inches deep and larger than the baking dish with paper towels. Fill the pan with very hot water and place the dish of bread pudding inside. Bake until set, about 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on each serving.

[image: stock.xchng]

For my friend’s birthday yesterday we did a little “petits fours party.” I used Gale Gand’s recipe for the cake and fondant glaze (way too sweet) and made my regular ganache.

As tasty as they are I don’t know that I’d use the ganache for any kind of formal serving unless you made them a day ahead to let them set up a bit more. I had draped them only a couple of hours before we decorated and they were still pretty tacky, so they’d be messy at a wedding reception or dinner unless you pass out forks with them. We have some left over that I tested this morning and the chocolate seems to be a little more set, so making them a day or even two ahead of time wouldn’t be a bad idea.

The picture really doesn’t do the little cakes justice — the chocolate seems to just absorb the light (I had kitchen lights and my flash on!), but they tasted amazing.

This is one of my seven year-olds’ plates and I think it’s safe to say the kids had a blast too (those are candied lemon peel on top among the sprinkles).