In my condo I had pretty basic equipment. When I first moved in my budget for appliances was .. well it was low. I bought the cheapest fridge and stove that I could find, and I waited a couple of years before buying a washer and dryer. Even though it was inexpensive, my stove always got the job done. Bread, cakes, roasts; you name it, it was tasty. My only regret was that it wasn’t self cleaning. I didn’t realize how horrible cleaning an oven is until I had to get in there and do it.
Now that I’m back at my parent’s house I have a brand new stove. It’s a lot fancier than what I’m used to. A friend of mine told me that some baked goods don’t work in gas stoves. He didn’t know what wouldn’t work, and I’m not sure I believe it, but I was curious. I decided I’d need to start baking a variety of things to see.
I originally planned a cherry clafoutis, but then I saw this recipe for Vanilla Cherry Bread Pudding. My mind immediately went back to the chocolate babka I made this easter. The first one imploded due to the weight of the chocolate. It failed as a loaf, but it tasted great so I had cut it into chunks and freeze for a bread pudding. Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding became my first baking experiment in my new oven.
I made a couple of changes to the recipe, the biggest being that I used chocolate babka instead of plain brioche. I also used Amaretto instead of port in the cherry compote. I left out the maple anise ice cream and simply used vanilla ice cream. The results were really, really good. Chocolate and cherry is one of my favourite flavour combinations. The only thing I’d change would be to add more cherry.
I know that most of you don’t have a chocolate babka sitting in the freezer waiting to become bread pudding, so I recommend using brioche and 8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate chopped.
Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding
- 45 sweet cherries, pitted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup Amaretto
- 1 chocolate babka or 1 loaf brioche and 8 oz bittersweet chocolate
- 3 cups whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large egg yolks
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Make the cherry compote: In a saucepan bring the Amaretto and sugar to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cherries and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the cherries have softened and the liquid has thickened. Pour into a heat proof jar, then place the jar in an ice bath to cool the compote. Set aside.
- Make the bread pudding. In a large saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla to a simmer. While the milk is heating, whisk eggs, 2/3 cup sugar and salt together in a large bowl. Once the milk is simmering, pour a small amount into the egg mixture while whisking. Then pour the rest of the milk, whisking constantly.
- Grease a 6 by inch baking dish with the butter. Place half of the babka pieces in the baking dish, cover with half the cherry compote, then the remaining babka. Pour the egg/milk over the bread. Let the milk soak for 5 minutes then bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream topped with the remaining cherry compote.
What She's Having 
Nice Lynn. Never imagined a bread pudding with cherries and chocolate for some reason..
Thanks! I love chocolate and cherries together.
Chocolate and cherry is truly a match made in heaven! … and a great flavor combo for bread pudding!
The Armaretto is what did it for me – totally put it over the top with the additional almond flavor!
That is one amazing bread budding!
I love cherries and to combine them with chocolate in a pudding just puts it over the top
Oh man, I wish I had a chocolate babka waiting for me in the freezer, lol. I do know where I can get some good brioche bread though!
Great use for that imploded chocolate babka! And I like the other changes, too. The amaretto in the sauce would be so great!
delightful! I have some brioche waiting in my freezer to be made into bread pudding :)
Ooo, I love bread pudding, this is so tempting! I understand about cheap=o appliances! I’ve been in apartments for so long I forget what it’s like to have an oven that doesn’t take a half hour to heat up!
Cherry and Chocolate– what a great combination! Sweet and Tart flavors are always perfect together. My husband loves bread pudding… I must try this for him!
Cherry and Chocolate are my fav combo. I’m waiting for Jello to make a pudding like that. I love the touch serving it with icecream. :)
You had me at Armaretto. I’m actually on the lookout for a chocolate cabinet pudding from Sweet Mandy B’s but I need to give this one a try.
Karen
I always seem to accumulate a vast collection of random leftover bread bits, so bread pudding is a regular visitor at our house. Love the chocolate and cherry flavours you’ve used here… sounds like a winner! (Not to mention the half-cup of amaretto.. hells yeah.)
BTW, I absolutely adore the photo of the bowl of cherries at the top of this post. It looks like a classical still life… simply gorgeous!
Wow, what a gorgeous bread pudding! I wish my family love bread pudding as much as I do, and I’d be making this one lickety split!
If I die and go to foodie heaven… I’m eating this.
Oh my goodness, this seriously sounds so good! I love the chocolate and cherry together and I am so so making this as soon as we get some cherries around here!
That is just gorgeous! I absolutely love the pictures!
We came to the appreciation of bread pudding late, but thanks to a local restaurant we got there. Better late than never, right? Theirs is a pretty straight forward affair with a whiskey sauce. Yours looks so much more inviting with the chocolaet and cherries. Delicious!
How delicious and comforting this dessert looks.
Wow this looks good. I wish a frozen chocolate babka waiting to make this lovely treat. ;)
Mmm, your bread pudding looks fabulous. Chocolate and cherries together are a yummy delight. I have a sweet treat linky party going on at my blog and I’d love it if you’d come by and link your pudding up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/06/sweets-for-saturday-21.html
I wish I had a chocolate babka just sitting around! Chocolate and cherry is such a great combo.
Also, I’ve had both electric ovens and gas ones, and I prefer gas. And I’ve never had a problem with baking in the gas ones.
I have just made it, it’s in the oven now and it smells so good.. the custard is so yummy!
I thought I had amaretto, but i didnt, so i used some sherry instead, and im sure it will come out great!
The baking dish should be 6x?. You didn’t type the second measurement…?
Thanks for pointing that out. It should read 6 by 8, although you could probably use several sizes. As long as the custard is set it should be fine.