Recipe - Chocolate Bread Pudding With Strawberry Sauce

1/3 pound Chocolate, dark
Three fourths cup Heavy Cream
One half cup Sugar, superfine
4 Eggs; seperated
One fourth pound Butter, unsalted; cut in
small pieces
3 teaspoon Vanilla
1 One half cup Breadcrumbs, white
1 tablespoon Sugar, superfine

STRAWBERRY SAUCE
1 1/8 pound Strawberries
2 tablespoon Sugar, superfine
2 tablespoon Brandy

Process the chocolate in a food processor until finely chopped. Bring
cream just to simmering point in a saucepan. With the motor running, pour
hot cream over chopped chocolate and process until smooth. Add One fourth cup
sugar, egg yolks one at a time, butter, and vanilla essence and process
until combined. Combine breadcrumbs and chocolate mixture in a large bowl
and mix well.
Butter a round 20cm diameter cake tin or souffle dish and sprinkle with
the extra caster sugar. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually
add remaining sugar, beating until thick and glossy. Gently fold whites
into the chocolate mizture until thoroughly combined. Spoon mixture into
prepared tin and place in a baking pan. Pour in enough hot ater to come
halfway up the sides of the tin and bake at 180C for 4550 minutes, or
until cooked when tested with a skewer. Leave in tin for 10 minutes before
turning out on a serving platter.
Serve warm or cold, with Strawberry sauce.

*** Strawberry Sauce ***
Process 250g of the strawberries, hulled, with 2 tablespoons of caster
sugar and the brandy until smooth and well combined. Transfer to a small
saucepan and cook over low heat until just simmering. Add the other 250g of
hulled and chopped strawberies and cook gently until warmed through.
Makes about 1 One half cups.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini