Recipe: Chocolate bread-and-butter pudding with roasted pears

Daniel Pfyl, hospitality management lecturer at Otago Polytechnic, shares some professional techniques to make your cooking easier.

Chocolate bread-and-butter pudding with roasted pears
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

9 slices toast bread
140g dark chocolate buttons
470ml cream
¼ cup dark rum
½ cup caster sugar
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
pinch cinnamon
3 size seven eggs
2 pears
caster sugar 

 

 

 

Method

1. Spray or grease a baking dish.

Put the cream, chocolate buttons, rum, butter cut into pieces and as much cinnamon as fits on the tip of a knife into a microwave-proof bowl. Heat on high for two minutes, stir, and heat another 1 or two minutes until the chocolate and butter have melted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Cut the crusts off the bread (the crusts can be dried and used to make breadcrumbs) and cut the slices diagonally into quarters.

 

 

 

 

3.  Line the dish by neatly fitting half of them into the bottom of the greased baking dish in a single layer.

Line the dish by neatly fitting half of them into the bottom of the greased baking dish in a single layer.

 

 

 

 

4.  In another bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs until well-mixed. Whisk the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture. Pour half the mixture over the bread in the dish.

 

 

 

 

5.  Layer the roasted pear slices over the bread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Place another layer of bread over and pour the rest of the chocolate mixture on evenly. The bread may float, so push it below the liquid so it

becomes saturated. Cover with plastic film and allow the custard to soak into the bread for at least 30 minutes or up to two hours before baking.

 

 

 

 

7.  Put some hot water in a roasting tin and place the pudding dish in it. The water should come about half way up the dish. This protects the custard and keeps it soft while cooking. Leave uncovered so you get a nice crisp top. Bake at 160degC for 40-60min. The top should be crunchy

but the inside meltingly soft. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes for the custard to settle.

 

 

8. Sprinkle with icing sugar if you wish. Serve with cream, ice cream or yoghurt.

 

 

 

 

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To roast the pears

1.  Place baking paper or a silicone mat on a baking tray and sprinkle lightly with sugar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Peel the pears and cut off the tops and bottoms. Cut three slices downwards from the thin end around the core to the thick end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Place the flat side of the pear pieces on the board and slice thinly. Fan the slices on the baking tray and sprinkle again with a little sugar. Bake for 20min at 160degC. The pears should be slightly coloured but still al dente.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• If you would like to request to a particular technique we haven't already shown, please let us know. Write to Cooking 101, Editorial Features, Otago Daily Times, P.O. Box 181, Dunedin or email odt.features@odt.co.nz with cooking 101 in the subject line.

To check earlier Cooking 101 columns visit: www.odt.co.nz and search for "cooking 101".

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