The past half-week or so has been utterly shit-astic. Nothing worth mentioning here; just the usual human misunderstandings, emotional breakdowns, a little bit of bank fraud, and the foibles of a possibly-menopausal 36-year-old. You don’t want to read about that.

Angela’s timing couldn’t be better when she announced the First Annual Fluid Pudding BreadPuddingAlong. Bread pudding is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. When I was little, my paternal grandmother always made bread pudding when anyone was sick. It cures everything.

When my grandma was dying, my mother wrenched the bread pudding recipe out of her with grandma protesting the whole time.

This isn’t quite her recipe. The base is hers. I’ve used her base recipe for umpteen bazillion varieites of bread pudding over the years. When I was in culinary school, bread pudding with fancy shit saved my ass nuermous times when I needed to make something deserty, as I am not a baker.

On Friday I devised the most decadent bread pudding idea ever, and one I knew Angela would love. Pig Candy Bread Pudding. The plan: make Granny’s bread pudding base. Sweeten with lots dark brown sugar. Add chunks of two Mo’s Bacon Bars. Bake. Top with maple syrup and run under the broiler for maple brulee.

I went to World Market, the only place on my side of the river that I know carries Mo’s. And they were sold out.

But they did have this:

That would be one 3400 Phinney Coconut Curry Milk Chocolate Bar. This might even be a better option than the bacon bar. I’ve spent a lot of time eating curry, both Thai and Indian, with Angela. And it just so happens that curry is another one of my comfort foods.

Here’s what I did:

6 hot dog buns, torn (I used whole-grain white ones, left over from the gut-wrenching recipe that’ll be in Gutcheck on Tuesday.)

1 cup cream of coconut

2 c. 2% milk

2 beaten eggs

1/2 c. raisins (Golden would be best, but I used dark.)

1/2 c. slivered almonds or cashews

1 tablespoon powdered chai mix (I like Trader Joe’s Spicy Chai Mix)

1 – 3400 Phinney Coconut Curry Milk Chocolate Bar, chopped

1 cup shredded coconut

1 c. whipping cream

1.5 tablespoons dry chai mix

1/2 tablespoon sugar

Preaheat oven to 350.

Combine first eight ingredients in oven-proof baking dish and stir until bread is soaked.

Top with shredded coconut.

Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Add foil, lest your coconut turn out like this:

Oopsie. I always burn coconut.

Bake another 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit until pudding is firm.

In the meantime place remaining chai mix, sugar, and whipping cream in a mixing bowl. Beat until it’s just this side of butter.

Lick beaters.

Slice or scoop pudding. Add chai whipped cream.

The cream of coconut makes the pudding really sweet without being cloyingly so, because it’s got that coconut flavor to it. Raisins and almonds make me think of korma, which I love. Toasty coconut gives good crunch. And the chai whipped cream? Holy shit. Why didn’t I think of making that years ago?

As for the curry chocolate, the flavors blend well with the chai spices. Every now and then there’s a little chocolatey burst, followed by a little bit of that red chile tingle, which is perfectly balanced with the whipped cream.

My grandma’s probably doing inter-grave backflips and there’s a good chance someone will write a “what the hell was this recipe creator thinking?!?!” article about this in 40 years or so, but for now, yum.