This tres leches bread pudding from The Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook is a showstopper. Topped with whipped cream and a rich cinnamon-infused chocolate sauce, it’s a memorable ending to a dinner party and the perfect way to use up holiday leftovers. The staler the bread, the better; dry bread absorbs more of the decadent milk mixture.
If you don’t have challah on hand, almost any bread will do; try our Parker House Rolls, which are actually made with challah dough, to transition from Thanksgiving dinner to day-after dessert.
Tres Leches Bread Pudding with Mexican Chocolate Sauce
SERVES 8 TO 10
6 large eggs
1 (14-ounce/396 g) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce/354 ml) can evaporated milk
2 cups/480 g whole milk
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 (1-pound/455 g) loaf day old challah, torn into 1-inch/2.5 cm pieces
½ cup/55 g sliced almonds
½ cup/65 g raisins
1 tablespoon/15 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup/240 ml cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
Mexican Chocolate Sauce (recipe follows)
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
Whisk together the eggs, all three milks, 2 teaspoons of the vanilla, the cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Add the bread, almonds, and raisins and use your hands to mix everything together. Let everything sit for 5 minutes to let the bread absorb the mixture.
Coat a 2½-quart/2.3-liter baking dish with the butter. Transfer the bread mixture to the dish. Bake the bread pudding until the top is browned and the pudding is set, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Let the bread pudding cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
While it’s cooling, combine the cream and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until soft peaks form. Whisk in the sugar.
Serve the bread pudding warm topped with the whipped cream and chocolate sauce.
Mexican Chocolate Sauce
MAKES 1⅓ CUPS/350 G
This sauce takes bread pudding or even a plain bowl of vanilla ice cream to another level. Mexican chocolate has sugar and cinnamon, which adds the characteristic spice. If you can’t track it down, feel free to substitute an equal amount of chopped dark chocolate and add a hefty pinch of ground cinnamon.
7 ounces/200 g Mexican chocolate, finely chopped
1 ounce/30 g bittersweet chocolate
½ cup/120 g heavy cream
Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Put the two chocolates and the cream in a heatproof bowl and put it on top of the saucepan. Make sure the water isn’t directly touching the bowl (if it is, simply pour a bit out). Heat the mixture, stirring, until the chocolates are completely melted and the sauce is smooth. Serve immediately. If you would like to make the sauce ahead, let it cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Reheat in the double boiler.
Reprinted from The Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook. Copyright © 2015 by Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez. Photos copyright © by Jennifer May and Evan Sung. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.
