Alyssa's Mexican Hot Chocolate-Inspired Recipe: Bread Pudding

Carla mentioned Mexican hot chocolate over gchat the other day, and I immediately began craving it.  There's something so comforting about the combination of rich milk chocolate, warm cinnamon, and fragrant vanilla.  We chose it as our first recipe inspiration even though I knew that it would be difficult to find Mexican chocolate in Tokyo.  But I could always add those flavors to plain chocolate to improvise, right?

That wasn't necessary, though, since Carla is a Google godess.  She found a few Latin food import stores in Tokyo that were coincidentally within walking distance of my apartment.  I'm pretty sure that the first store I went to was the front for a drug ring, since the shelves were practically empty and the sole employee looked quite surprised to see customers.  The second attempt was much more successful.  The store was located in the same building as the Peruvian Embassy in Tokyo, and its specialty is Peruvian and Brazilian food.  I found a Peruvian brand of chocolate with cinnamon, clove and vanilla.  Score!  Now, what to make?

A mousse?  Maybe a pudding?  Meh, uninspired, and not far enough from Mexican hot chocolate.  Caramels?  I didn't have the patience at the time, even though they're one of my favorite treats.  I wanted something fairly easy but still decadent.  Which led me to. . . heavenly bread pudding.  The crisp, caramelized top.  With a warm, custard center.  Topped with cold, creamy ice cream.  I asked my guinea pig husband if he would change anything about it for the next time I make it (because there WILL be a next time.  And not just because I bought three times more chocolate than I needed).  His very serious response was, "The only thing I would change is MORE."

The chocolate I used is not the highest quality chocolate.  It's a little waxy and chewy, but it still made a luscious, molten chocolate-y bread pudding.  I can only imagine how fantastic it would be if with a better chocolate!  Who wants to smuggle some REAL Mexican chocolate into Tokyo for me?

(Peruvian) Mexican Chocolate Bread Pudding

3/4 c cream
1/4 c milk
1/4  sugar
1 c chopped Mexican chocolate
1 egg
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 cups bread, cut into 1 inch cubes (see note below)

Note: Most bread pudding recipes call for day-old bread.  I am not usually that planful, however! Who are these people who know what they're making a day in advance? I've found that you can get the same results by cubing fresh bread, spreading it on a baking sheet, and throwing it in a 300 degree oven for 3-5 minutes.  You don't really want to toast it, just dry it out a little bit.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Bring the milk, cream and sugar to a simmer in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Remove from the heat.  Add 3/4 c of the chocolate and whisk to create a chocolate milk mixture.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.  Whisk the warm chocolate milk into the egg mixture, one ladle at a time to ensure the egg doesn't scramble.  Cool for 10 minutes, whisking frequently.  The recipe can be make ahead up to this point, and you can refrigerate the chocolate mixture for up to a day.
Add the bread and the remaining 1/4 c chocolate to the bowl. Stir to combine, making sure the custard coats the bread.  Place an 8x8 pan or single-portion sized oven-safe dishes (I wanted to use these, but I stupidly did not bring them to Tokyo.  Idiot!).
Bake for 30-45 minutes, until custard has set.
Let cool for 5 minutes, then top with vanilla ice cream and serve.

This serves 2 hungry people who had a light dinner or 4 people who actually practice self-control. We got 3 servings out of it, but we would have liked leftovers...

Check out what Carla did with Mexican chocolate here.