Incredibly Easy Chocolate Mousse

It's been about 1 1/2 years since I last ate chocolate mousse. Micki made it for me and it left a lasting impression. Mousse, unlike custard and pudding, requires no cook time and has a very silky, spongy texture. Depending on the type of chocolate you use, it can taste pretty rich. I used half semisweet and half bittersweet. Wowee.

I remember all of that, yet I've never bothered to make it myself. Forget about the simplicity of brownies, mousse is the easiest dessert of all time. As an added bonus, it requires no bake time and ingredients you most likely have on hand. Eggs, chocolate, extract, hot coffee. Got all of those?

Here's how to do it. In a blender (or a bowl with a whisk, like I used), pour hot coffee over the chips, blending (or whisking) until melted. All that blending cools the mixture down for the next step.

Whisk in the yolks and liqueur or extract into the chocolate mixture until thick.

Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Pour the chocolate over the whites and fold until blended.

Pour into serving dishes for a fancy presentation, or into one big serving bowl. Although you don't have to bake mousse, you do need to chill it for at least an hour prior to digging in. Good things come to those who wait.

To keep busy, I made orange-flavored pizzelles to dip into the mousse. Wow, that little maker gets hot; you'd have thought the oven was on!

And that, folks, is how you make mousse. If you're a guy, this should be your go-to dessert to impress family, friends, and dates. For everyone else, you'll still impress everyone with this dessert. I mean, I impressed myself.

Disclaimer: If you're young, pregnant, or elderly, you might want to steer clear of this dessert unless you use pasteurized eggs.

---

Incredibly Easy Chocolate Mousse
Recipe from Chocolate On The Brain: Foolproof Recipes for Unrepentant Chocoholics by Kevin Mills and Nancy Mills

Yields 6 servings

Ingredients -

1 cup (6-ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup very hot coffee or 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder dissolved in 1/3 cup boiling water, plus an additional tablespoon or two if needed
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla extract or liqueur of choice
Whipped cream

Directions -

1. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl and pour the hot coffee over them. Whisk until mixture is very smooth. If necessary, add the additional hot coffee to melt any remaining chips. Whisk again for another few seconds.


2. Separate the eggs, putting the whites into a large metal bowl with no traces of grease and the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture. Set the whites aside. Add the vanilla or liqueur to the chocolate mixture and whisk for 15 seconds, or until the mixture is thick and smooth.


3. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer just until they form stiff peaks. Do not overbeat.


4. Pour the chocolate mixture over the beaten egg whites and mix them gently with a rubber spatula, scooping up egg white from the bottom of the bowl and turning the spatula over repeatedly until no white is visible. Pour the mousse evenly among six small dishes or into one serving bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. Serve plain or with whipped cream. Store leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert

Here is the strawberry pretzel dessert I mentioned yesterday. I followed a recipe from Allrecipes.com, but I changed the proportions a little. We usually make either a coconut cake or fruit-based dessert for Easter, with a key lime pie being the norm. I wanted to make a new dessert this time, albeit not one we haven't tried before (it's good practice never to attempt a new recipe for a holiday or event -- I've learned that lesson). It's still fruity, though this dessert has more textures and flavors.

Such as the pretzel crust. It's comparable to a graham cracker crust in method, only I think it tastes much better and gives a salty-sweet element to the dessert that I really enjoy.

It comes together by grinding pretzels in a food processor. The pretzels don't have to be ground entirely to a floury consistency, but you want it to be finely ground enough so that it can form a crust that can be sliced without falling apart.

After the pretzels are ground, they're mixed with sugar and melted butter. Many versions use a 13x9-inch baking dish. I wanted a more elegant presentation, so I used a springform pan, pressing the pretzel crust up the sides just like a tart.

The bottom layer consists of sugar, softened cream cheese, and cool whip. It's sort of a light, airy cheesecake layer and a pleasant contrast to the salty pretzel crust and strawberry jello layer.

It's important to chill this layer before pouring the jello on top, otherwise the red jello will seep into and stain the cream cheese.

Finally, the strawberry jello layer! Unlike the cream cheese layer, which I cut in half, I doubled the amount of jello but used less liquid called for in the original recipe. I did this for flavor and so that the jello layer wouldn't be too soft.

Instead of using frozen recipes, I sliced a 16-ounce container of fresh strawberries, sprinkled them with 3-4 tablespoons of sugar, and let them stand for an hour or two while the jello partially set. This helps draw out the flavor of the strawberries, which is especially important if the strawberries are tart. It also adds more flavor to the finished dessert.

I read in a few recipes that the strawberries fell to the bottom when mixed immediately into the hot jello mixture, so I let the jello chill enough so that had a chance to partially set before adding the strawberries and any accumulated juice. Since it is partially set, it's easier to pour onto the chilled cream cheese layer and the liquid won't seep into the cream cheese and crust.

The dessert was a success and tasted really refreshing. I had some trouble slicing the layers because the strawberry slices wouldn't cut, causing the jello to slide over the cream cheese. Next time, I might finely dice the strawberries, though I think it looks prettier with slices.

---

Print this recipe

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert
Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com by Christina Provo

Yields 8-16 servings

Ingredients -

2 1/2 cups finely crushed pretzels
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
8 ounces Neufchâtel cram cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulate sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or lemon extract
4 ounces (half a container) Cool Whip, at room temperature
1 16 ounce container of fresh strawberries
3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 packages of strawberry jello
2 cups boiling water

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the crushed pretzels with the sugar and butter. Press mixture on the bottom and about 1 - 1 1/2 inches up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. A small glass can help press the crust into the creases and sides, if needed. Bake for 10 minutes; remove from oven and let cool completely.


2. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar until combined. Beat in lemon juice or extract. Stir in one third of the cool whip to lighten the mixture, then carefully fold in the remaining cool whip. Pour into the prepared crust. Refrigerate while you prepare the strawberries and jello.


3. Hull and slice the package of strawberries. Place in a bowl and toss with sugar. If the strawberries are very tart, use the full amount.


4. Pour the contents of the jello packets into a heat-proof plastic container; stir in the boiling water until powder is dissolved. Refrigerate until mixture has cooled and is partially set.


5. When jello is of proper consistency, stir in the sliced strawberries and any accumulated juice. Pour on top of cream cheese layer, smoothing the top if necessary. Refrigerate overnight.


6. To cleanly slice, dip a serrated knife into hot water and wipe off with a paper towel. Repeat process before each new slice.

Emeril Lagasse's Apple-of-My-Eye Crisp

So, it snowed this week. I guess that means winter is finally here, so now I have to put up with the flaky white stuff, winds, and chilling temperatures for the next two-three months. It's not so bad when I get around to baking, which is what I did this weekend. My long run was on Saturday and I was anticipating cold, anger, and rage, so I decided to make a dessert to look forward to eating afterward.

I didn't want a cake, tart, or some sort of pretentious dessert that takes five hours to prepare, just something warm and comforting. After reaching that conclusion, my mind shifted to cobblers, crisps, and the like. That led me to my final destination of Emeril Lagasse's Apple-Of-My-Eye Crisp from There's A Chef In My Soup!, a cookbook I had given my brothers a very long time ago. Lil bro had often made the apple crisp and it became everyone's favorite.

What I like about this recipe is the perfect buttery, crispy topping, and the tender apples become that are infused with flavor and suspended in caramely sauce. I forgot that my brother always doubles the topping, uses more brown sugar and less granulated, and increases the apple filling by half, so I made it again yesterday. I'll include the recipe for the normal amount of apples and double the crisp, because the best part of a crisp is... the crisp. Right?

To make the topping, mix together flour, a pinch of salt, and both brown and white sugar. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse, then chill in the fridge while you prepare the apples.

The recipe calls for two types of apples, Granny Smiths and Golden Delicious, though I used Granny Smiths and a firm red apple suitable for baking. The apples are thickly sliced to keep them from breaking down during baking. The apples are then tossed with lemon juice, then the sugar-corn starch-cinnamon-ginger mixture.

It doesn't look very saucy, but as the apples cook the moisture is released, which helps create the juicy, thick, and spicy sauce.

Carefully spread the crisp topping over the apples, then bake for an hour and fifteen minutes until the apples are bubbly and the topping is a deep brown.

After it bakes, you might be tempted to dig right in. It smells delicious and looks tempting, but you'll probably burn your mouth and the filling won't have set, so let it rest for a little bit. If you don't have any, now would be the perfect time to go on a whipped cream run. You can eat it plain but the cream goes really well with this.

Next time it snows and you're looking out the window in disgust, don't bother leaving. Just head on in to the kitchen and get baking. In particular, this apple crisp.

---

Print this recipe

Apple-of-My-Eye Crisp
From There's A Chef In My Soup!

Yield - 6-8 Servings

Ingredients -

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Granny Smith apples
3 red baking apples
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9x9-inch baking dish; set aside.


2. Place the flour, brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and salt in a medium bowl, whisking to combine. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Refrigerate crumb topping while preparing remaining ingredients.


3. Peel apples, slice in half, then cut out the core. Place one apple half on the cutting board and cut lengthwise in six slices. Place the slices in a large mixing bowl and toss with the lemon juice.


4. Mix the remaining granulated sugar, cornstarch, and spices together. Toss with the apples until well-coated. Pour the apples into the prepared baking dish and crumble the topping evenly over the mixture.


5. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Carefully remove the dis from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.

peanut butter & cherry chocolate cake

Before you read this post, please take a little time to vote for my lentil recipe. Click here to vote by leaving a comment. You can vote anonymously, and you can vote once a day through June 6. Thank you!

We celebrated my dad's birthday over Memorial Day weekend. We played poker with spare change, suffered through a power outage, and ate cake. When I asked him on Friday what kind of cake he wanted, he replied with "chocolate, peanut butter, and cherry." Might sound like an odd trio of flavors, but if you think about it, it's like a peanut butter sandwich with cherry jam, sandwiched between chocolate bread.

You know what's annoying about yellow counters? The color matches the color of most baked goods and provides no color contrast. This makes for a rather dull picture.

To start, I messed up the cake. The recipe was fine, though I accidentally measured out too much liquid. The other suspected cause was the lower baking temperature, 325 instead of the traditional 350. It seemed odd. I decided to follow the recipe and do what it said, but I wonder if the lower temperature contributed to the sunken centers. However, most of the fault is mine, and my inability to read the recipe and accurately measure ingredients.

Dilemma. Should I remake the cakes or figure out a way to use them, sunken centers and all? Since the middle was going to be filled with cherries, I figured that the craters could face each other. The flat sides would face outwards, providing a smooth icing surface. This worked out well, and prevented the waste of additional ingredients.

The cherries used for the filling were from a can. I decided on Queen Anne cherries in a sweetened syrup, drained, and coarsely chopped. Twelve cherries were reserved to decorate the top. The color matched the frosting, though that wasn't intentional.

For the frosting, I developed my own recipe using heavy whipping heavy cream, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, and a little salt. The result is a nice and airy frosting with a strong peanut butter taste, and a lighter texture in comparison to other recipes. Even though this frosting is less dense, it holds up well and is easy to work with. I'm sharing the recipe with you guys.

Overall, I'm happy with how this cake turned out. Most importantly, my dad liked it! Happy Birthday!

---

Print this recipe

Light and Airy Peanut Butter Frosting
Recipe by Christina Provo

Makes enough frosting for one 2-layer 9-inch cake

ingredients -

1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
4 cups confectioners' sugar
16 ounces smooth peanut butter
3/4 teaspoons coarse salt

directions -

1. In a large bowl, beat whipping cream on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing until smooth.


2. Add peanut butter and continue to mix, on medium speed, until thoroughly combined. Stir in salt with a spatula.

mother's day eats

Since Mother's Day usually falls around the time when May starts to warm up, I orchestrated a grilled dinner with a citrus flavored pie for dessert. The meal consisted of shrimp skewers with tomatoes and mushrooms, cheddar onion turkey burgers, Italian sausage, bulb onions, a salad, limeade for drinks and key lime pie for dessert.

The shrimp and vegetables were marinated in a simple cilantro-garlic marinade with a little paprika for added smokiness. The used a recipe from the back of a crispy cheddar onion bag for the turkey burgers (the kind of onions you use in green bean casserole). I didn't have one, but everyone said they were good.

The salad was a giant antipasto-like salad with marinated mushrooms, black olives, and green olives, dressed lightly with a homemade vinaigrette.

I had some extra limes leftover from dessert and used them to make limeade, which was then turned into strawberry limeade by adding macerated strawberries. Very cool and refreshing.
I followed Simply Recipe's recipe, minus the mint. I didn't strain the lime zest, but make sure you strain the lime juice because the pulp gets a little overwhelming. I doubled the recipe and used 2 cups of sugar, which ended up minimizing the tartness of the limes. I added more juice to compensate. I'd suggest starting with the lesser amount of sugar, holding back half a cup of the water you add to the sugar syrup and juice. Afterward, if you feel it needs more sweetness to offset the tartness, whip up another small batch of sugar syrup and add it to the rest of the ingredients.

As an aside, a small bag of ice costs $1.80. It wasn't just for the limeade; I made a sweetened and spiced cold brew concentrate that needed ice for iced coffees. Next time I make cold brew coffee I'll zest an orange into the coffee grounds.

For dessert, I made a key lime pie which I have previously blogged about. I didn't add the egg whites to the filling this time. I used them to make an Italian meringue (using the recipe from the frosting for coconut cake I recently blogged about). Since the egg whites are stabilized by the hot sugar syrup, it holds up much better than a traditional meringue. Those usually weep and dissolve after a few days, but this one is still looking good. I beat the meringue mixture for a few minutes on high speed after the last of the syrup was added so it would be stiff. I then baked the pie (sans meringue) for 7 minutes first, then spread the meringue onto the hot filling, sprinkled with sugar, and baked for 15 minutes. The top wasn't browning like I wanted so I turned the broiler on to finish it. Next time, I'll sprinkle lime zest on the meringue before it bakes.

The meringue was amazing and almost marshmallowy. In the future, I'll never make a regular meringue again.

For the crust, I par-baked a homemade coconut shortbread. I winged the recipe because I wasn't sure what I used last time and I forgot I had blogged about it. Next year, I might use browned butter in the dough.

So ends another Mother's Day with a successful dinner. It was low key and fun. I look forward to grilling some more food now that the weather cooperating.

What was the highlight of Mother's Day weekend for you guys?.

chocolate biscuit cake

In light of recent events, you may have thought news of the Royal Wedding was over. Not true, guys! Although I'm not here to discuss the wedding, I am here to talk about my favorite part of all events -- the food. The groom's cake for this wedding was called a "chocolate biscuit cake". It really wasn't a cake at all, but a ganache mixed with McVitie's digestive biscuits. At the end of the day, it's a candy bar.

It was my mom's idea to make it because I was a bit put off by the cake when I first heard of it. I'm glad we made it because it truly is a delicious dessert.

First ingredient is good chocolate. You can use your favorite. Chocolate chips take a little longer to melt, but are good to use, too. Since you need about 11 ounces of chocolate, it's more economical to purchase one bag instead of 3 bars of chocolate.

Almonds get chopped and toasted, giving the cake some crunch. The animal crackers get soft after a day so you can add more almonds if you want.

Melted chocolate and butter get whisked into eggs beaten with sugar. The eggs give the chocolate a different texture, more fudgy and soft, than just cream will. If you're worried about salmonella, add a teaspoon of lemon juice. The heat from the chocolate might not be enough to cook the eggs.

Once the chocolate is blended in, the mixture begins to get stiff. We added heavy cream and a few tablespoons of the orange juice used to soak the raisins and to lighten the chocolate.

Here are the raisins. In the background, you can see the animal crackers being mixed into the chocolate. McVities weren't available, though I know I saw them once. I like the animal crackers in place of graham crackers, which get soggy really quickly.

After everything is mixed together, it gets smoothed into a springform pan, greased and lined with parchment paper. This was refrigerated a few hours, though you could also make it a day ahead of time so it chills overnight.

I highly suggest this cake. Although it's not a cake in the true sense of the word, as someone might point out to you, everyone will like it anyway. The cake isn't as heavy as you might think, and the orange gives the chocolate fruity undertones. Now that I've made this, the idea of a layered chocolate biscuit cake covered with ganache icing seems incredible!

---

chocolate biscuit cake
Inspired from this recipe and this recipe

ingredients -

11.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces digestive biscuits or animal crackers, broken into almond size pieces
zest of 1 orange
1/2 chopped almonds, toasted
1/4 cup raisins, soaked in 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (reserve soaking liquid)

directions -

1. Melt chocolate in a mixing bowl placed over a saucepan of gently simmering water. In another saucepan (or microwave-safe bowl) melt butter.


2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the eggs, sugar, and heavy cream until mixed well. Add melted butter and chocolate. Add orange zest, raisins, 3 tablespoons reserved soaking liquid, and nuts to the chocolate mixture. Gradually fold in the crushed biscuits (or graham crackers), until biscuits are evenly distributed throughout the chocolate.


3. In a greased 8-inch springform pan lined with parchment paper, spread the chocolate mixture and smooth out evenly. Cover entire pan with plastic wrap.


4. Refrigerate for 5-8 hours, or overnight. Cut into thin slices.

caramelized bacon wrapped pears

Foodbuzz is running a bacon-themed contest, so I decided to get into the kitchen and crank out some bacon desserts. First up is a simple but elegant bacon dessert with fruit, so the artery clogging is balanced out. Kidding. I liked the pears because they have a neutral flavor, though any fruit like peach and other stone fruit would work as well.

The necessary ingredients are pears, bacon, sugar, and POM juice for the sauce, though you could substitute a red wine if you preferred.

I sliced the pears lengthwise, then scooped out the cores and the bottoms and stems. I then wrapped each pear half with a slice of bacon. I meant to buy toothpicks to pierce into the fruit so the bacon stayed in place, but I forgot. I would suggest doing it.

When the skillet heated up, I sprinkled sugar in the skillet and placed the pears, sliced side down, on the sugar. I wanted the bacon to pan fry in the caramelized sugar and develop a sweet, crispy, and chewy texture.

The bacon cooked up great like this. After I flipped the pears and cooked the other side for a few minutes, I transferred the pears to a parchment lined baking sheet to place in the oven. I had to scrape out the caramelized sugar before cooking the other four pears because it had cooked too much and tasted like burnt sugar with essence of bacon, which still was surprisingly good. I munched on burnt bacon caramel while I finished up the remaining pears. You may question how I have any sense of taste left, but don't worry about me.

After cooking and removing the other pears, I added a tablespoon of butter and POM juice to the skillet, then let it cook down a bit to reduce and thicken. As the sauce cooked, the pears were baking nicely in the oven. They were a bit firm to begin with, but the texture came out great afterward. Easily sliceable, but not mushy. I was pretty happy with the outcome of this recipe, and I liked how simple it was to make a tasty fruit dessert that didn't need a pie crust. Try it out if you're a bacon fan.

---

Print this recipe

caramelized bacon wrapped pears
Recipe by Christina Provo

Serves 4

ingredients -

4 firm Bartlett pears
8 slices bacon
2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup POM juice or red wine

directions -

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Slice the pears lengthwise. Scoop out cores and stems. Take a slice of bacon and wrap it around one half, securing ends with toothpicks (press them in deep, leaving enough of the end sticking out to remove before serving. Repeat with rest of pear halves and bacon.


2. Heat a large skillet over medium. When hot, sprinkle with 1/3 cup sugar. Immediately place pear halves on top, cut side down. Cook for 5 minutes; carefully flip over and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Remove to baking sheet and place in oven. Discard caramel in pan onto a sheet of foil to cool before throwing out. Add remaining sugar and repeat cooking process.


3. After pears are removed from skillet, add butter and stir. Slowly pour in POM juice, stirring with a whisk constantly. Let cook on medium for about 5-7 minutes, until thickened and reduced.


4. Spoon sauce onto bottom of plate and top with two pear halves. Enjoy!

King's Hawaiian Raspberry Bread Pudding Bowl

Spring is in the air! That means rain showers and freak snowstorms. In the cooking world, you might be getting ready for a spring or Easter brunch. I'm partnering with Foodbuzz Tastemaker program and King's Hawaiian bread to bring you a perfectly scrumptious recipe for your next springtime brunch. They gave me a monetary stipend to create a recipe and I decided on a bread pudding baked in a bread bowl. I had originally wanted to make mini bread puddings, but the King's Hawaiian rolls are a bit small for the purpose.

My next idea was to use the giant round loaf, hollow it out, and bake the raspberry filling inside. Once it cools and sets, you can slice it like a pie and serve it with a raspberry-mango coulis. The coulis, a simple fruity sauce, almost looks like a dessert ketchup. The flavors are vibrant, tropical, and gives a great flavor to the bread pudding.

I always figured that King's Hawaiian bread had pineapple in it, but the ingredients say differently. It's simply a sweet potato bread that's very soft and fluffy.

Once you slice the top, you sort of scoop out the insides. I somehow managed to "scoop" layers, making it easier to slice into cubes.

I ended up with eight cups of bread cubes (including the top), which I toasted in the oven to dry out for a few minutes.

The custard is a simple milk, egg, and sugar mixture. I used lactose free milk, but I'm sure you can substitute regular milk as well. Since frozen raspberries are more economical, I opted to buy a pack for this recipe instead of the fresh variety. Since I used them frozen instead of letting them thaw they didn't bleed through the pudding very much.

All you have to do next is mix the toasted cubes of bread with the custard, stirring until it soaks up a little, stir in the raspberries, and pour the custard into the bread bowl. The giant loaf comes in a foil pie tin, though I placed it on a rimmed baking sheet so transferring it to and from the oven is easier. You'll need to cover the sides of the bread with foil strips to prevent the bread from burning as it bakes. The rim on the pie dish makes the foil stay on, so that's cool.

That's all there is to it! The pudding bakes a bit longer than most recipes since the bread pudding is sort of in a mound versus a shallow dish. I found it baked up well for about 1 hour and 50 minutes. A little longer than I liked, but what are you going to do?

The raspberry-mango coulis is simple to put together and can be prepared as the bread pudding bakes. I used 1 cup of frozen raspberries and 2 cups fresh mango. You can use frozen mango as well, if you'd like. I simmered the two fruits in a saucepan with a small amount of sugar for 10 minutes, then pureed the mixture, pressing it through a fine mesh sieve so the seeds from the raspberries are removed. A little lemon juice to enhance the tartness and it's all set.

The bread pudding can be made ahead of time, covered, and recrisped in the oven for 10 minutes just prior to serving. The flavors meld together and the unique preparation will make for a fun dessert for your next spring brunch. Enjoy!

---

Print this recipe

King's Hawaiian Raspberry Bread Pudding Bowl
Recipe by Christina Provo

Ingredients -

1 16 ounce loaf King's Hawaiian bread
1 2/3 cups whole milk
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
8 cups day old cubed King's Hawaiian bread
2 cups frozen raspberries

Coulis ingredients -

1 cup frozen raspberries
2 cups cubed fresh or frozen mango chunks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

directions -

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the top off the loaf of bread, about 1/2 and inch thick. Using your hands, hollow out the bread, keeping sure keep the bottoms and sides even in thickness. You should have about 8 cups of cubed or torn bread. Place the bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for 7-10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Watch carefully because it toasts quickly.


2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, and sugar together. Add the toasted bread cubes, stirring just until the bread begins to soak in the liquid. Stir in frozen raspberries. Place the bread bowl onto the rimmed baking sheet and cover the exposed sides with foil; pour in the custard-bread mixture. Cover the top with a sheet of foil and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove foil from top and continue baking for an additional 20-25 minutes, until bread pudding is puffed and set. The filling will jiggle when shook and a knife inserted in the center will come out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool.


3. Meanwhile, place frozen raspberries, mangoes, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook at a simmer for about 10 minutes, until the liquid is extracted and the fruit cooks down. Pour into a blender with 1/4 cup water and puree until smooth. Press through a sieve to remove seeds. Stir in lemon juice.


4. Spread coulis onto bottom of serving plates. Position a slice of bread pudding in the middle. Serve with additional sauce if desires.

Bread pudding may be cooked in advance. Cover and refrigerate overnight. To reheat, bake in an oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.