I saw Throwdown a couple nights ago & Bobby Flay made this Coconut Chocolate Bread Pudding. It looked delicious! Throwdown's Chocolate-Coconut Bread Pudding with Passion Fruit Sauce Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay Prep Time: 1 hr 0 min Inactive Prep Time: 45 min Cook Time: 30 min Level: Intermediate Serves: 9 servings Ingredients Ganache: 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 1 1/4 cups heavy cream Bread Pudding: 17 ounces brioche (crust removed), cut into 1 1/2-inch dice 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 3 cup heavy cream 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk 1 1/4 cups pure cane sugar 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (Valhrona Manjari 64 percent), finely chopped 4 whole large eggs 2 large egg yolks Chocolate Ganache 1 cup desiccated coconut Passion Fruit Sauce: 3/4 cup passion fruit juice 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 2 tablespoons white rum For the Anglaise: 1/2 vanilla bean 3/4 cup whole milk 1/2 cup coconut milk 4 large egg yolks 1/4 cup sugar For the Ganache: Directions In a small bowl place the chocolate. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat bring the cream to a simmer and then pour over the chocolate. Let the chocolate mixture sit for 30 seconds and then whisk until smooth, keep warm. For the Bread Pudding: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment and add the diced brioche. Drizzle with the melted butter and toss to coat. Bake in the oven and lightly golden brown. Removing and tossing several times. This should be repeated for about 12 minutes. Once the bread has evenly browned, remove and let cool slightly. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan over high heat, combine the cream, coconut milk, sugar and vanilla bean and seeds in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Add the chopped bittersweet chocolate and whisk until melted. Strain the mixture into a medium size bowl. In a separate medium bowl whisk together the eggs and yolks and slowly add the warm chocolate mixture, whisking as you add. Place half of the brioche cubes in a single layer in the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Pour 1/2 of the custard mixture over the bread and half of the ganache. Sprinkle with half of the coconut. Press down on the bread, allowing the liquid to soak in. Place the remaining bread cubes over the top, add the remaining custard and ganache and again, press down to completely submerge the bread. Top with the remaining coconut, cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes before baking. While the bread is sitting continue to check and press down on the bread so that it is completely submerged with the custard mixture. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Uncover the bread pudding, and place the baking dish in a larger roasting pan. Fill the outer roasting pan with warm water until it comes halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Place the roasting pan in the oven and bake until the sides are slightly puffy and the center is slightly set (but still jiggles a bit). For the Passion Fruit Sauce: Into a small saucepan cut the passion fruit in half and scoop out centers (including the seeds). Add the sugar, orange juice and rum and let cook over high heat until sugar has dissolved and sauce has thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and chill in the refrigerator. For the anglaise: Split vanilla bean. In a small heavy saucepan bring milks and vanilla bean half just to a boil and remove pan from heat. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean halves into milk and reserve pod for another use. In a bowl whisk together yolks and sugar. Add milk in a stream, whisking, and transfer custard to saucepan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring, until thickened slightly and an instant-read thermometer registers 170 degrees F. Pour custard through a fine sieve into a metal bowl set in a large bowl of ice and cold water and cool, stirring occasionally, until cold. Sauce may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, its surface covered with plastic wrap. Remove the pan to a baking rack and let sit for 15 minutes. Spoon some of the coconut anglaise into a bowl and drizzle with the passion fruit sauce. Top with a large scoop of the bread pudding and serve. Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Fri Jan 16 2009 © 2009 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved Advertisement will not be printed /tricia

This must be close (see link) -- it sounds like what you're describing except they dip the balls into the chocolate instead of putting it into an indentation. Good luck -- sounds yummy! Here is a link that might be useful: Coconut bon-bons

"Do you think either or both are addicting or harmful? Have you had any success in giving them up?" I think both are harmful. I've never had artificial sweetener in my life, so I can't say anything about whether the stuff is addicting. However, I've read recaps of recent research, apparently peer-reviewed, on the dangers of sugar. Whether it's organic or not is probably irrelevant. The point is that the research has concluded that sugar may be harmful to the body in numerous ways, including to the brain and its functions, with the latter including intelligence/learning/memory. Have I had any success in giving up sugar? Yes!!! Two years ago, I decided to adopt a particular way of eating, one that included, among other things, the giving up of sugar and of processed foods that contained sugar. I had been a VERY long-time and MAJOR chocoholic, so success was a long and hard-fought battle. In truth, I still lose minor skirmishes from time to time, but now, two plus years later, I eat so little sugar that I can say I've basically won the war. It was very difficult at first, but from experience, I can tell you that, if you can stick it out, you get to the point where foods containing added sugar usually seem disgustingly sweet. One example: Former favorite way to have hot cereal was with lots of maple syrup. Now, I have mine with berries (defrosted, if fresh not available, and always organic), often with chopped up cooked carrot in it, and with cinnamon. Other than walnuts and some seeds (hemp, flax, and/or chia), that's it - and I think it tastes great. Second example: I LOVED milk chocolate and HATED dark chocolate. Yesterday, I had a bite of a dark chocolate bar with an 82% cacao content. I usually shop for 85% plus. The bite was delicious. I simply cannot eat milk chocolate any more. It's cloying sweet, and the texture seems weirdly thick and gooey. Actually, I've conquered my sugar addiction to such an extent that I sometimes add a kale leaf to the cereal. Or sometimes have dinner leftovers for breakfast. Result of all this? Whether it's the way of eating in general or because it's sugar-free, but I can go all the way to dinner, very active, with no hunger and no loss of energy. Yesterday, I was cleaning a house and doing yardwork (preparation for it to be on the market), and all I had all day was a couple of bites of cereal/fruit/cinnamon. No sugar = no blood sugar spikes = no headaches, no hunger pangs?

My dentist also says that carbonated beverages, even the sugar free ones, are bad for your teeth, most are acidic enough to affect the enamel. He does promote sugar free gum, though, and although I seldom chew gum, I do choose sugar free because the sugar makes my teeth ache. I mostly drink iced tea with no sweetener but I do still drink Diet Coke, just because I like it. I do not like ANY of the full-sugar sodas, it's like drinking a big ole' glass full of sugar. As with everything, some people are sensitive and some aren't. My boss can't use Splenda at all, it literally makes her sick. "flulike symptoms" raning from headaches to upset stomach to intestional....um.....issues. I just don't like Splenda, it tastes icky. I do occasionally use Equal in my coffee and I'm convinced that high fructose corn syrup is the scourge of America. So, what to do? I follow Grandma's advice. Moderation in everything. Is it bad for me? Probably. So are fried foods, whole milk, the preservatives on produce, the chemicals in our soil, the pollutants in our air, the lead in paint from China, and a zillion other environmental factors. Since I'm very bad at being good, I try to just be good SOME of the time. Oh, and Shaun, I agree with you on Stevia. It's not good and it's also not consistent. Sometimes it's very sweet, sometimes it's bitter, sometimes it tastes like I've been eating pasture. Nope, it's not for me either. Annie