White Chocolate Bread Pudding

November 5, 2008 | Desserts | Print Recipe

This is a signature dessert of The Palace Cafe in New Orleans. This recipe is not exactly the same as theirs, but it is close and a little less rich. But it is still very rich and will wreck your diet in a second. I have made this for guest and it has always been a huge hit. They will usually say it is the best dessert they have ever had and use phrases like “this is better than sex” and “this is orgasmic”. Yeah, it’s that good. Use day old French bread or dry it out in the oven a bit if fresh. You can use a double boiler to melt the chocolate or just melt it in a sauce pan but if you use the sauce pan, go slow.

INGREDIENTS:

For the pudding

10 oz white chocolate chips or cut into small pieces (the smaller the easier it is to melt)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups heavy whipping cream
2 eggs
8 egg yolks
1 loaf day old French bread, sliced into 1/4 inch slices

For the ganache

8 oz white chocolate chips or cut into small pieces
3 oz heavy whipping cream

PREPARATION:

For pudding

1. Heat the cream in a double boiler. Add white chocolate and melt. Remove from heat.

2. Heat the milk, eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in a double boiler until warm. Blend this mixture with the white chocolate and cream mixture and set aside.

3. Layer bread slices in a large baking pan overlapping on top of one another until pan is near full. Pour 1/2 of the mixture over the bread and let it settle for a bit so that the bread soaks up the mixture. Pour the remaining mixture on the bread and again allow to absorb. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour at 275°F. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

For ganache

Heat the cream in a double boiler. Add white chocolate and melt. Pour over individual servings of the bread pudding.

You should refrigerate the pudding for about 2 hours, (not critical though) allowing it to set properly. Then serve warmed in a microwave with a garnish of dark chocolate shavings and / or with French vanilla bean ice cream. Yum!

Serves 8 plus

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