Dark chocolate and cherry are a match made in heaven in this delicious rich dessert fit for entertaining.

Ingredients

For the Cherry Caramel Sauce:

• 15oz frozen sweet cherries
• juice from 1 orange plus zest
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ¼ cup of water + 1 tablespoon
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the Bread Pudding:

• 1 pound of challah bread loaf
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt, plus more for garnish
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 vanilla pod sliced in half
• ¼ cup dark chocolate chunks
• unsalted butter for greasing the pan

For the Chocolate Ganache:

• ½ cup of unsalted butter
• 14oz of bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

1. Using the bread knife from the All-Clad Forged Knives Block Set, cut the loaf of challah bread into one-inch square cubes and set aside.
2. Grease an All-Clad Pro-Release Muffin Tin with unsalted butter and set a side.
3. Make the Cherry Caramel Sauce by adding the cherries with 1 tablespoon of water, orange juice, orange zest, and honey into an All-Clad D3 Stainless 3 Quart Sauce Pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let the cherries cook down for 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Using the All-Clad Immersion Blender, blend the mixture into a purée. Once you have achieved a purée consistency, pour it through a fine mesh sieve, into a mixing bowl to remove any solids.
5. Wipe your sauce pan clean and add 1/4 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar into the pan. Bring it to a boil over high heat, watching carefully until the mixture caramelizes into a dark rich amber color. Remove from the heat and add the butter, stirring constantly until melted and fully incorporated. Add the strained cherry purée into the pan, followed by the vanilla and balsamic vinegar. Bring the mixture back to a very low simmer and mix the ingredients with a spoon to incorporate them until smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
6. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, nutmeg, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
7. In a new sauce pan, heat the milk over low heat. Split the vanilla pod, scraping the bits of vanilla from the inside and adding both the pod and bits to the milk. Let steep for about 10 to 20 minutes.
8. Tempering the milk mixture, slowly stream into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to ensure the milk does not curdle the eggs. Once everything is combined, add the room temperature cherry caramel sauce to the mixture. Whisk to combine the custard fully.
9. In your prepared muffin tins, add the challah bread to each cup pressing down to ensure you can add roughly 6 to 10 pieces of the bread in each tin.
10. Pour the custard over the bread, pressing the bread to soak up as much custard as possible. Top with a couple of dark chocolate chunks. Cover the muffin tin and let them set in the fridge for at least an hour.
11. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Once the oven reaches temperature, add the muffin tins to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
12. While the bread pudding cooks make the dark chocolate ganache. In an All-Clad Copper Core 2 Quart Sauce Pan, add the butter and let it melt. Once fully melted, add the chocolate and stir constantly to combine. The mixture will be glossy and silky when completed.
13. Remove the bread pudding from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the pan.
14. Place the bread pudding cups on top of an All-Clad Pro-Release Nonstick Cooling and Baking Rack. Allow the ganache to cool slightly and then drizzle over the bread pudding cups. Garnish with a sprinkle of sea salt.

Pro Tip:

Tempering is the process of introducing a hot liquid into an egg mixture - making sure the eggs are not cooking while you are incorporating the liquid.

RECIPE BY

Natasha Pickowicz

Natasha Pickowicz is an NYC-based pastry chef and writer. She is a three-time James Beard Foundation Award finalist, recognition from her time spent running the pastry programs at the award-winning restaurants Altro Paradiso, Flora Bar, and Flora Coffee from their opening in 2016 until March of 2020. Currently, Natasha runs the acclaimed pastry pop-up called Never Ending Taste, which celebrates the relationship between local farming, social justice, and community bake sales. It has been held at NYC’s Superiority Burger, Brooklyn’s The Four Horsemen, the American-Vietnamese bakery Bạn Bè, the Taiwanese tea room Té Company, LA’s Kismet, and San Diego’s Chino Farms. She is now working on her debut cookbook.

Connect with Natasha on social @natashapickowicz