Chocolate-Caramel Croissant Pudding

Ok. So I have a total non-sexual total-sensual foodie crush on Nigella Lawson. I'm not afraid to admit this as fact. Hah! I was elevating my leg yesterday to help decrease the swelling in my ankle & decided to see what the Cooking Channel had to offer me by ways of entertainment. Nigella was on- ahhh serendipity! ;)


The episode had lots of yummy offerings, but truth be told- I was most interested in the dessert- the Bourban-Caramel Croissant Pudding. I got online to print out the recipe. (as follows)

CARAMEL CROISSANT PUDDING
2 stale croissants
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons bourbon
1/2 cup whole milk
2 eggs, beaten


Directions : Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Tear the croissants into pieces and put in a small gratin dish; I use a cast iron oval with a capacity of about 500ml/ 2 cups for this.

Put the sugar and water into a saucepan, and swirl around to help dissolve the sugar before putting the saucepan on the hob over medium to high heat. Caramelize the sugar and water mixture by letting it bubble away until it all turns a deep amber colour; this will take 3 to 5 minutes. Keep looking but don’t be too timid.

Take the pan off the heat and add the cream - ignoring all spluttering - followed by the bourbon and milk. Whisk to mix, then still whisking add the beaten eggs. Pour this quickly over the croissants and leave to steep for 10 minutes.

Place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes and prepare to swoon.


I clicked on "related recipes" & found a variation that Ina Garten had posted (she is the one who heads up Barefoot Contessa). Her recipe was similar, but seemed included chocolate & the sauce was more custard-like. I decided to take the addition of chocolate & add it to Nigella's recipe. I also was making a bigger batch. Here's how I changed the recipe:


Tanya's Chocolatey Bourban-Caramel Croissant Pudding

Croissants (I found a bag of mini croissants at a local bakery - i used them all & broke them into smaller pieces)
1 cup sugar (i used 1/2 light brown sugar & 1/2 white)
1/3 c water
1.5 c Half & Half
1/2 c bourbon
1 cup skim milk
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 c chocolate chips

I followed Nigella's directions almost exactly- however the 1st batch of caramel sauce I cooked too long & ended up with rock-candy in the saucepan. Total fail. *And I hope after soaking it over night I am able to salvage the pan... The 2nd batch I cooked much less time (only 2 minutes after bringing it up to a boil) -I didn't get to the caramel stage, but I figured it would be baking so I went with it. Because I made a much bigger batch, it didn't get done in only 20 minutes- I baked it in a lightly buttered stoneware pan (the deepdish baker one) - and it took 38-40 minutes. The bourban smelled really overpowering when I took it out of the oven (once it looked set & didn't have pools of melty chocolate-custard all over). I was nervous that I put way too much bourban. Once it cooled, I dusted w/ powdered sugar- and I tasted some. DELISH! It is good on it's own & especially good w/ the ripe strawberries I sliced with it!