Chocolate Bread Pudding

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Step 2

   Brush bread all over with melted butter. Arrange pieces on a rack and place in oven, turning until golden brown, about 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Step 3

   Meanwhile, combine cream and milk in a saucepan and bring just to a boil.

4. Step 4

   Add sugar and stir until dissolved.

5. Step 5

   Put egg yolks in a large mixing bowl and add the hot cream mixture, a ladleful at a time, beating briskly with wire whisk. Skim off any foam that accumulates on the surface.

6. Step 6

   Put chocolate in a mixing bowl. Place bowl in a basin of simmering water and let stand until chocolate melts.

7. Step 7

   Add egg yolk mixture, a little at a time, to chocolate, stirring constantly. Stir in vanilla.

8. Step 8

   In a baking dish measuring about 9½ by 13½ by 2½ inches, arrange bread slices in two rows, the slices slightly overlapping. Pour chocolate mixture over bread. Let stand until some of the mixture is absorbed. Cover the bread pudding with clear plastic wrap and cover this with a rectangular dish that fits inside the baking dish. Add weights so the chocolate mixture barely covers all the bread and is absorbed by it. Let stand about an hour.

9. Step 9

   Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

10. Step 10

    Remove weights, rectangular dish and plastic wrap. Cover top with aluminum foil, not letting it touch the chocolate filling. Punch a few holes in the foil with a knife. Seal foil around edges.

11. Step 11

    Place dish in a larger dish and pour boiling water around it. Bring this to a boil on top of stove. Place dish in its water bath in oven and bake about 1 hour and 45 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed and on touch it springs back and the top has a slight glossy look. Serve warm, cut into squares with English custard on the side.