You can find this recipe at El Restaurante.
The California Milk Processor Board (CMPB), creator of the iconic got milk? campaign, offers myriad recipes that are great for restaurant menus—and pair perfectly with milk. This recipe for Mexican Chocolate Bread pudding is just one example…
Recipe by Chef Isabel Cruz, Isabel’s Cantina, San Diego, CA; courtesy of California Milk Processor Board (www.gotmilk.com)
The Mexican Chocolate:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
Combine the ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until semi-fine ground. Set aside.
The Chipotle Chocolate Ganache
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 T. adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
In a medium saucepan, add the semisweet chocolate chips, half-and-half and adobo sauce. Cook over low heat until chocolate chips being to melt. Stir with a fork until sauce forms.
The Pudding:
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups half-and-half
1 cup almond slices
2 T. brown sugar
6 croissants (enough to fit a 9-inch pie plate), split in half as for a sandwich
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch pie plate and set aside. Combine the eggs, half-and-half and brown sugar in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Press the sliced croissants into the egg mixture and soak, turning over twice. They should absorb the egg mixture but not to the point of falling apart.
Fit the bottom half of each croissant into the buttered pie plate, sliced side down. Sprinkle 3/4 cup of the Mexican chocolate over the croissants and then 1/2 cup of the almonds. Layer the remaining halves of the croissants, sliced side down again, on top. Sprinkle the remaining Mexican chocolate and almonds over the top.
Bake the bread pudding until puffy and dry on the top but still moist inside. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before cutting and serving. Serve warm at room temperature, or chilled. Top with a spoonful of Chipotle Ganache before serving with a glass of milk.