Chocolate-Caramel Pudding
Today I’m going to share with you a very classic dessert from the Piedmont region known as Bunet. Bunet is a baked chocolate custard that has a bit of caramel on the outside and all sorts of wonderful textures and flavors on the inside such as hazelnut, rum and vanilla. You can almost think of this as an Italian version of flan or creme caramel.
This dessert is not only quite easy to make at home, but tastes absolutely incredible, and I’m here to show you the classic recipe.
How to make Caramel
If you have a sweet tooth, then there’s a good chance that you love caramel. It is truly hard to beat the nutty, slightly smoky, complex flavors that caramel provides, especially for things like creme brulee, cakes, or to drizzle over ice cream. Caramel can seem like a tricky beast to master, however once you have tried it a few times, you’ll find that it’s quite easy to make, you just need to follow a few rules and guidelines.
Cook your caramel in a heavy bottomed pot or any kind of pan that will ensure even heat distribution which will result in the caramel cooking evenly. Also, if possible, stick with a stainless steel cooking vessel as you can monitor the color of the caramel a lot easier.
If your stovetop has a history with hotspots or uneven cooking, consider getting a heat defuser such as a cast iron skillet, that will help the heat evenly distribute
Once your sugar has started bubbling, do not stir it. You can give it a little stir at the beginning to help the sugar dissolve into the water, but that’s it. If you agitate the caramel too much at this stage, it can cause sugar crystals to form which can result in a cloudy caramel.
If you notice some sugar crystals developing on the edges of the pot, what you can do is gently swirl, not stir, the caramel to try to rinse the sides and get those crystals to melt.
A candy thermometer is helpful if you’re just starting out, but when I make caramel I generally rely on the color to tell me when it’s done.
Once a caramel has reached the color you desire, you have to remove it from the heat immediately or it can easily burn.
Don’t forget that sugar begins to caramelize at around 320 degrees F/160 C, so be very careful when moving your caramel to your baking pan or wherever you plan on putting it. A sugar burn is not fun at all, believe me.
Well, with that out of the way, I’d say it’s time to get on with the recipe!
Serves 12
For the Caramel:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
For the Custard:
3 1/2 oz Amaretti cookies, Nilla wafers are also good for this
3 1/2 oz toasted hazelnuts
3 1/2 oz dark chocolate, grated
1 3/4 oz unsweetened cocoa powder
4 1/4 cups milk
8 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon rum
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Make the caramel. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes without stirring until the caramel turns to a honey color (See above for more tips on how to make caramel.). Pour the caramel into a nonstick loaf pan and coat in an even layer on the sides and bottom. (A pastry brush is very helpful for this) Set aside to cool.
Fill a large baking pan about half full with water, place that into the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F/180 C.
In a food processor, pulse the cookies and hazelnuts together until they break down to a coarse crumb. Add the chocolate and cocoa powder, then pulse a few more times until you get a powder, but be careful not to overdo it or the chocolate can melt.
Heat the milk in a saucepan until it’s hot, but not boiling. Whisk the eggs and sugar together, then pour in the hot milk, rum, and vanilla, then whisk to combine. Stir in the chocolate mixture, then pour everything into the caramel lined loaf pan.
Carefully place the pan in the middle of the larger water-filled pan*, then bake for 45-60 minutes. Start checking it around the 45 minute mark, it should be set on the edges but still slightly jiggly in the middle.
Once baked, carefully remove the loaf pan from the water bath, then let it cool completely before unmolding it onto a serving platter.
To unmold, it’s best to dip a knife into some hot water then gently run that along the sides of the pan. You can then dip the bottom of the pan in hot water to release the bottom before placing the inverted platter on top of the pan and flipping it all over, then let gravity do the rest. Serve in thick slices.
*Baking the custard inside of the pan of water is what’s known as a bain marie, or water bath. This will ensure that the custard bakes evenly.
