Dulce de Leche & Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding - can I make this ahead?

[cocoa'smom]

It's that time for my office's annual Halloween Bake-off. I have quite a reputation to uphold since I've placed in the top 3 every year we've done it ! I've been searching for recipes and found this one from Epicurious:

Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding
Bon Appétit | March 2008
by Jill O'Connor

user rating:
4 forks

Egg bread, bittersweet chocolate, and an intense caramel sauce combine to make this the ultimate comfort dessert. Be sure to start this recipe ahead of time. It takes about half an hour for the custard to soak into the bread.

Ingredients

8 1/2-inch-thick slices egg bread (about 4 x 5 inches), crusts trimmed, cut into 3/4- to 1-inch cubes
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup purchased dulce de leche ice cream topping or butterscotch-caramel sauce plus more for serving
4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup (about 3 ounces) bittersweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons sugar
Powdered sugar

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place bread in large bowl. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons melted butter; toss. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Bake until bread begins to color, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Cool. Brush 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish with 1 tablespoon melted butter.

Stir whipping cream and 1 cup dulce de leche in medium saucepan over medium heat until blended and bubbling. Remove from heat. Whisk eggs and yolks in large bowl. Add rum, vanilla, and salt; gradually whisk in warm dulce de leche mixture. Stir in bread cubes. Let soak 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mix chocolate chips into custard mixture. Pour into prepared dish. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake pudding until puffed and set in center, about 35 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm, passing more dulce de leche topping alongside.

---My question is: Do you think it would be OK to make the night before and heat in the microwave at work right before serving? Should I underbake it a little? I know its probably not the best kind of dessert to make for something like this, but it sounds so good (and anything with a sort of Latin flair usually gets extra points since I work with a lot of Hispanic people).

Any feedback or advice or other suggestions are welcome!

[zackaboo]

If you have a reputation to uphold then I wouldn't take the chance with a bread pudding unless you could cook it on site. I have never made a bread pudding that reheated very well and I would be really afraid that the bread would get tough in the microwave. It does sound fabulous though! How about looking for another recipe with dulce de leche?

[syzygy]

I agree with zackaboo. Bread puddings are best served fresh from the oven. They puff up during baking, reminiscent of a souffle (though not quite as dramatically) and would become much denser if baked the night before. If you have access to an oven at work, you could make up the pudding the night before, refrigerate overnight, then bake it at work. That would work well and it would be nice and puffy and warm when you serve it.

If you can't bake on site then I would try a different kind of recipe.

[cocoa'smom]

Thanks for your opinions. I've decided to ditch the bread pudding idea and make this instead:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/02/du...comment-328820

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares
Adapted from Gourmet, December 2003

Makes 64 (1-inch) cheesecake squares

For crust
3 1/2 oz graham crackers, crumbled (1cup)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For filling
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-oz envelope, will be just about half an envelope)
1/4 cup whole milk
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
3/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup dulce de leche (12 1/2 oz) (recipe follows)

For glaze
3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), coarsely chopped
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Make crust: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with 2 sheets of foil (crisscrossed), leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.

Finely grind crackers with sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor. With motor running, add butter, blending until combined. Press mixture evenly onto bottom of baking pan. Bake 10 minutes, then cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes.

Make filling: Sprinkle gelatin over milk in a small bowl and let stand 2 minutes to soften. Beat together cream cheese, eggs, salt, and gelatin mixture in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes, then stir in dulce de leche gently but thoroughly. Pour filling over crust, smoothing top, then bake in a hot water bath (I was able to fit mine in a 9×13-inch baking pan) in oven until center is just set, about 45 minutes. Cool cheesecake completely in pan on rack, about 2 hours. Chill, covered, at least 6 hours.

Glaze cake within 2 hours of serving: Heat all glaze ingredients in a double boiler or a small metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth, then pour over cheesecake, tilting baking pan to coat top evenly. Chill, uncovered, 30 minutes.

Lift cheesecake from pan using foil overhang and cut into 1-inch squares with a thin knife, wiping off knife after each cut. (Don’t skip this step! A clean knife is essential for uber-neat squares.)

Note: Cheesecake (without glaze) can be chilled up to 3 days.

[zackaboo]

Yum! Let us know how it turns out.

[syzygy]

Absolutely!! Can't wait to read the review. (I've already copied the recipe! )

And zackaboo, I'm not stalking you -- honestly!

[zackaboo]

syzygy...you made me laugh!