Dark chocolate and Easter egg baked croissant pudding

Name: Dark chocolate and Easter egg baked croissant pudding
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 4-6
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Ingredients: 6-8 croissants; 1 cup pouring cream; 1 cup store-bought vanilla custard; 2 large eggs; 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste; 1 cup dark chocolate chunks; 4-6 small Easter eggs (I used eggs filled with Turkish delight and caramel); icing sugar, to dust; 2 tbsp crushed freeze-dried strawberries or mixed berries

Katrina Meynink

March 26, 2021

A brunchy, but not too eggy, twist on bread and butter pudding.Katrina Meynink

easyTime:30 mins - 1 hourServes:4-6

I add minimal fresh eggs to this Easter chocolate version of bread and butter pudding – I detest the overly eggy taste you often get and no one needs an omelette with their chocolate. Instead, I add cream and custard to do the heavy lifting. If you love the eggy goodness, feel free to add another 2 eggs to the recipe. The freeze-dried fruit adds a very necessary cut through to the buttery sweet goodness. You could serve with some tart fresh fruit to get a similar effect.

Ingredients

6-8 croissants
1 cup pouring cream
1 cup store-bought vanilla custard
2 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
1 cup dark chocolate chunks
4-6 small Easter eggs (I used eggs filled with Turkish delight and caramel)
icing sugar, to dust
2 tbsp crushed freeze-dried strawberries or mixed berries

Method

Step 1
Preheat oven to 170C fan-forced (190C conventional). Find a baking dish that snugly fits your croissants and arrange them flat-side-down.
Step 2
Combine the cream, custard, eggs and vanilla bean paste in a jug. Gently pour the mixture into the pockets between the croissants, pushing them into the mixture so it absorbs around their bases. Continue until all the liquid has been poured into the dish, being careful not to get it on the tops of the pastries, otherwise it will burn. Push the dark chocolate into the holes and spaces around the croissants.
Step 3
Bake for 30-45 minutes, turning the dish halfway through, and keeping an eye on the tops of the croissants – cover with foil if they are taking on too much colour. To test that it's ready, push onto the croissants, there should be some resistance, and only slight jelly-like movement in the custard. Please note this version is slightly runnier than a traditional bread and butter pudding – the crisp tops of the croissants are the perfect vehicle for mopping up any residual chocolate and custard mixture.
Step 4
To serve, top with the additional Easter eggs, dust with icing sugar and scatter over the freeze-dried fruit, if using. Serve warm.