The chocolate croissant pudding was accidentally invented by Chef Roger Freedman, when instead of using fresh bread for his bread pudding; he tried out some previous night’s leftover chocolate croissants, and up came this indulgent, chocolaty, buttery and flaky delight.

The stale chocolate croissants used in this dish gives it a more flaky texture, while the chocolate just oozes out and spreads through the entire dish and binds the croissants together giving it a smooth and buttery taste and texture. The dish is prepared in a variety of techniques, which include the inventor’s technique of folding the pastries in chocolate custard and adding in some chopped milk chocolate and baking everything in a big dish.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Tsp. of salted butter
• 1 1/4 Cups of sugar plus two tablespoons
• Eggs – 4
• 1 Tsp.each of cinnamon and vanilla extract
• 1 Cup whole milk
• 5 Tsp.of unsalted butter melted
• 5 Cups of stale (3-4 days old) croissants (cut into small squares)
• 5 Cups moist chocolate cake (cut into small squares)
• 2 bananas sliced
• 1 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 Cup chopped pecans
• 3 Cups half and half
• 1/2 Cup shredded sweetened coconut
• Coconut pineapple ice cream or any ice cream you like and candy sugar sprinkles for garnishing

Method

1. The oven has to be preheated at 300 degrees F. Take a 9×13 inch baking dish and grease it entirely by the salted butter. Take the square shaped chocolate cake and croissants and arrange 2 1/2 cups of each of them neatly in the dish to get your first layer of the pudding.
2. Take the sliced bananas, pecans, chocolate chips and shredded coconuts and lay them on top of the first layer.
3. Take the remaining croissant and cake cubes and place them over this layer, topped by the bananas, chocolate chips, pecans and coconut, thus forming alternate layers.
4. Beat 1 1/4 cups of sugar with the eggs for 6 min in an electric mixer. Add to it the half and half, vanilla and almond extracts, the unsalted butter and further beat for a minute.
5. Pour this mixture over the croissant layers and ladle carefully. Push down on the croissant and cake cubes to soak them completely with the egg/half and half mixture. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of sugar on top of this whole mixture.
6. Place a water bath (about 15×10 inch) and fill it up to one inch in height with water. Keep the 9×13 inch baking dish into the water bath and place it in the oven for one hour. Take out the pudding when it’s ready and allow it to cool for 15 minutes.
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip:  The croissants used are stale since they are more absorbing than fresh bread. While using the water bath, be sure that it goes halfway up the baking dish. While serving, cut the pudding in square pieces and serve. If the pudding can be stored overnight in a refrigerator just before serving bake for 10 minutes and serve warm.

The Chocolate Croissant Pudding is an absolute delicacy with a unique flavor of stale croissants and chocolate cakes, topped by coconut and chocolate chips. This dish is suitable to be served on special occasions like big family get together and supper.

The unique blend of different kind of textures and flavors make this dish a very special dish to woo your guests.

 About the author: Ellen Spencer is a blogger and writer. She is a health freak and very environmentally aware. These days she is busy in writing an article on Vegan diet. Beside this she loves reading. These days she is reading a lot about Teen depression as her brother is suffering from this.

Ellen, thank you for a very informative and delicious post.  This is one I will definitely try in the Zesty house.  I hope everyone has a good Friday and a nice weekend.  I will be back on Monday with an announcement.  Stay tuned.

Take care

zesty

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Hi All Happy Monday!  Funny story as to why I picked this post.  I am a little tight on time as a last minute trip to Vancouver sprung on me Friday evening with a sudden retrun trip from Vancouver came right after on Saturday morning.  I arrive home Saturday night to pack for my conference in Philadelphia starting on Sunday.  We are at Blue Bell PA staying at Normandy Farm.  Ever been?  It is quite nice so far.

There are about 9 of us who traveled together and as I was sitting on the plane I could hear one of my colleagues behind me asking his seat buddy this… Hey ever spend any time in Philadelphia?  My other buddy says ” No but I hear they make one heck of a cream cheese”

I turned around with a smile and said…. this is going on Zesty!  So as I am a little pressed on time – I wanted to share this post with you to get your taste buds grooving for the week.

Hey Zesty Cook readers, it’s Jenny over at Picky Palate.  I am thrilled to be guest posting here at Zesty’s!  At Picky Palate, I create simple family friendly meals and desserts for even those picky little eaters, come on over for a visit sometime

I am sharing one of my all time favorite sinful desserts today that I think you will love!  Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Cookie Bars.  I was even lucky enough to be featured on Bettycrocker.com with these bad boys!

The best part of this recipe is that it’s a breeze to whip up, the kids can help and you can find all of the ingredients at any grocery store.  Hope you all enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons melted butter
• 3 Cups Golden Graham Cereal, ground in food processor
• 1 Roll Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough
• 8 oz softened cream cheese
• 1/4 Cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 21 oz can apple pie filling
• 1 -  5 oz package Nature Valley Oats N’ Honey Crunchy Granola Bars (2 count), crushed (I use a rolling pin to crush them right in the bag before opening)
• 9 -  5 oz Kraft Caramels
• 1/2 Cup half and half

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine melted butter and ground cereal into a large bowl; press into an 8×8 inch baking dish lined with foil that’s been sprayed with cooking spray.
3. Bake for 10 minutes then remove from oven.  Crumble half of the cookie dough over partially baked crust.
4. Place cream cheese, sugar and vanilla into a mixer; beat until smooth.  Pour over crumbled cookie dough layer.
5. Bake for 25 minutes then remove from over.  Top with 3/4 of the apple pie filling (I chose to just add part, but you can add the whole can if desired).
6. Next top with remaining cookie dough, breaking off into little pieces evenly over top.
7. Sprinkle with crushed granola bars and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes clean from center.
8. Let cool completely then cut into squares.
9. Melt caramels and half and half according to package directions.
10. Drizzle over each bar.
11. ENJOY!

Take care

zesty

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I just have to rehash this post and let you know that I made these burgers last Tuesday night at the Campground and they were a HUGE hit. One of our friends is not into meat so we whipped up a batch of these…. all I can say is WOW. You truly need to try these burgers on your own time. Thanks again to Cat at WellSavannah.com for adding yet another barbecue recipe to my “favorites” list.

Hey Yall! My name is Catherine, most call me Cat, from WellSavannah.com. I am a nutritional coach and I write a wellness and nutrition blog for West Rehab and Sports Medicine, with eight clinics located in the lovely Savannah, Georgia and surrounding area.

I am so honored to be a guest blogger on ZestyCook.com! Zest is the most talented blog designer that I know and I was happy to share one of my all-time favorite recipes while he is away. This week marks the beginning of Lent, which means that many of us choose to abstain from meat and dairy until Easter.

This recipe is perfect for that because it is totally vegan, meaning zero animal products. One thing this recipe does include is a hefty source of balanced protein, fiber, and good fats.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Cooked Quinoa (red is prettier, but any kind will do)
• Vegetable stock
• Onions/Garlic/Carrot/Celery/Leek (all optional but will only enhance wonderfulness)
• Sea salt & cayenne
• 1 Tbsp. paprika (smoked is best to get that “meaty” flavor)
• 1 Tbsp. cumin
• 1 Tbsp. coriander
• *just a dash* cinnamon (secret ingredient)
• 1 Cup chopped pecans
• 1 Cup organic ketchup
• 1 Can black beans (rinsed)
• 1/2 Cup panko breadcrumbs (you could sub: gluten free cracker crumbs)

Method

1. You may saute half of an onion, a couple cloves of garlic, carrot, celery, or leeks in extra virgin olive oil. This step is totally optional; I’ve made it both ways, and it’s wonderful. Just use what you have on hand.
2. After the quinoa has fully absorbed the stock and the germ is exposed, it should look like this:

1. Next step: add quinoa to your food processor and add all spices.

1. Then add ketchup and pecans and pulse.

1. Meanwhile, rinse those black beans.

1. Add half of those fiber-filled babies to the mixture and pulse again a few times.
2. Add your panko. Let it rest for 5 minutes and then stir in (with a wooden spoon) the rest of the black beans.

1. Check the consistency and taste! You may want to adjust spices here to your liking.
2. When you have it tasting how you want, form into baseball-sized balls and flatten into patties. (Sorry my hands were too messy to capture this process.)
3. Use a silpat or parchment, or grease your pan well! They have no fat so they will stick!

1. Preheat oven to 400 F and cook for 12 minutes. Flip carefully at around 6-8 minutes. Watch them closely because they have pecans and will brown quickly.
2. Tada! Here’s your marathon burger. Now all I need is some cilantro lime creme fraiche!

Notice that bite....I was hungry!

I grilled the bread too...but got the bun bottom/top mixed up. Ha!

Zesty Tip: My quinoa black bean burgers can be frozen easily and baked up without thawing, just make sure there is no extra air left in the freezer bag, This will also prevent you from buying those “other” frozen burgers and provide you with a burger that will win over even the most discriminatory burger eater.

I hope you enjoy my QBB burger and share it with your family and friends. We love to feed people in the South, why not surprise your dinner guests at the next cookout, with a burger that will tingle your taste buds and keep your waistline slim, and its heart healthy to boot.

Take care now and let us know how much you love this one!

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