Dark Chocolate Amaretto Bread Pudding with Raspberry Cream Sauce [Giveaway]

I wanted to make something grown up.  Now don't get me wrong, I like cutesy cupcakes and pretty cookies with frosting and sugar and hearts and stars and sprinkles... oh how I love my sprinkles.  But I wanted to make something really grown up, something that tasted as rich and decadent as it looked.  And this dark chocolate dessert certainly is all of that and more.

Bread pudding is delicious on its own but when you make it with croissants?   It's buttery, flaky magic.

When you add a few cups of  Nestlé® Toll House® Dark Chocolate Morsels?  And throw in some amaretto liqueur, slivered almonds, a raspberry cream sauce AND amaretto infused whipped cream?  Life changing.  No really, consider your life changed.  You are welcome.

Can I offer you a spoon? Because I know I just made your mouth water.  And I do apologize for that.  (Kinda, not really.)  To make it up to you though I'll give you the recipe so that you can make it on your own.

Check it out here, it is every featured on Nestle's Pinterest page!


Dark Chocolate Amaretto Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
8 day old croissants
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. whole milk
3/4 c. amaretto liqueur
1 2/3 cups (10-oz. package) plus+ 1/2 c. Nestlé® Toll House® Dark Chocolate Morsels
1/3 c. sliced almonds
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3 large eggs at room temp.
1/4 c. unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
1/4 c. sliced almonds

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium low heat and add in heavy cream, milk and liqueur and stir until mixture
starts to simmer, but does not boil.
3. Add in 1 2/3 cups (one 10-oz. package) of Nestlé® Toll House® Dark Chocolate Morsels, stirring until chips
are completely melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, sugar and pinch of salt. Very slowly add in small teaspoon amounts of chocolate
mixture into the egg mixture until tempered. Whisk continuously while doing so to avoid cooking eggs.
5. Tear day old croissants into 1-2 inch pieces and toss in a big bowl with 1 1/2 cups of chocolate sauce. Fold in 1/2
cup Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate Morsels.
6. Scoop croissants into a buttered 13 x 9- inch glass baking dish. Pour all of the remaining chocolate sauce over the
croissants evenly and bake in a preheated oven.
7. After 20 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle sliced almonds over croissants. Return to oven and bake for an
additional 20 minutes, or until croissants are crisp on the outside, but soft on the inside.
8. Top with a drizzle of Raspberry Cream Sauce and a dollop of Amaretto Whipped Cream.

Raspberry Heavy Cream Sauce 
Ingredients:
1/3 cup raspberry puree (6-oz. carton fresh raspberries)
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 c. heavy cream
1 tbsp flour
1/4 c. unsalted butter

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium low heat.
2. Add in heavy cream, 1/3 cup raspberry puree, sugar and flour and cook, stirring constantly until sauce becomes
thick and can coat the back of a spoon.


Amaretto Whipped Cream  
Ingredients:
1 c. heavy cream
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp amaretto liqueur

Directions:
1. Mix heavy cream, sugar and liqueur in a chilled bowl of a heavy stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
2. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Make this for someone you really like.  Or send this recipe to someone who really likes you and is willing to make it for you.  Do whatever you have to do because you must try this.  This is warm, melt in your mouth buttery croissant with intense dark chocolate and amaretto flavor.  It is sweet but tangy raspberry cream sauce that compliments the chocolate just perfectly, with the added bonus of a very light but delicious whipped cream.  You can't even imagine all these flavors in your mouth until you are a spoon full in.  Then there's no stopping you.  This is the dessert that you never knew you always wanted. 

And to help you even further, Nestle is helping me give away packages of  Nestlé® Toll House® Dark Chocolate Morsels!  

Yours truly was hand-picked as one of only ten bloggers to enter their new Nestlé® Toll House® Dark Pinspirations Contest.  This is what I came up with.   

To get some of your own packages, all you have to do is go the campaign's Pinterest page and vote for my entry.  Then come back and leave a comment with your Pinterest username and email address on this post.   

How do you vote for me?  By repining and liking my dessert!  Click here to go to the vote page.   Make sure that you are not pinning the pictures on this blog, but that you are pinning my dessert from their campaign's page.  Repin and hit the little HEART icon.  'Cause yeah, I know you heart it too.  

You can also get an additional entry if you subscribe to me on Google Friend Connect.  Just do the same thing.  Add me (or tell me that you already have me on GFC) and leave me a separate comment telling me so! So easy!

The contest runs through March 30th. I will randomly select 50 winners and email you if you're a winner after that.

So repin me!  Share with your friends!   And spread the chocolate -- i'll help!

xoxo,
Anna

P.S.  You can also follow me on Pinterest here!