5 Recipes for Bacon Desserts

When George Clooney came to my house for dinner and I gave him a chocolate bacon bar for dessert, he suggested serving it to vegans and not telling them the source of the salty sweetness, since no one should be deprived of this culinary experience. We don’t advocate that, but at your next carnivore-only dinner party, do try out these bacon-for-dessert recipes, given to TIME by some of the best chefs in the country.

Brioche Bread Pudding
Recipe courtesy of pastry chef Vera Tong of New York City’s Dovetail

1 loaf of brioche
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Cut the crust off brioche. Cut brioche into 1-inch cubes. Spread them in a shallow pan and set aside.

Mix the remaining ingredients, using an immersion blender. Strain the mixture and pour over the brioche, mixing well. Cover in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Grease a square pan and lightly sprinkle the bottom with sugar. Place the brioche mixture into the pan in an even layer, about 1½ inches thick.

Sprinkle the top with sugar. Bake in 350° oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Sauce:
8 oz bacon, rendered in oven until very crispy
½ lb. butter
½ lb. dark brown sugar
2 cups maple syrup
2 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Bananas, sliced

In a 3-qt. saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until it becomes light brown. Whisk the brown sugar, maple syrup and heavy cream into the butter and bring to a boil. Add the bacon and vanilla extract.

Using an immersion blender, mix sauce until bacon is in small pieces. Strain the sauce.

To serve, cut the bread pudding into squares or rectangles. Top with a layer of fresh banana slices and sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on top. Use a torch on the dish to caramelize the sugar. Cover with sauce.

Watch TIME’s video “Bacon Chocolate Bar.”

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Simplified Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar
Recipe courtesy of chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of Los Angeles’ Animal

4 lb. gianduja chocolate
1 lb. peanut butter
8 oz. praline paste
4 cups feuillitine (or chopped-up cornflakes)
1½ tsp. sea salt
1 lb. bacon

Combine the chocolate, peanut butter and praline paste in a double boiler and melt over low heat.

Stir in the feuillitine and salt.

Spread the chocolate mixture evenly on a large pastry sheet and refrigerate until solid.

Cut the chocolate into strips.

Brunoise the bacon (dice it really small) and cook in a pan until it’s almost burned. Transfer it to a paper towel to soak up some of the fat.

Using a crème brûlée torch, quickly heat the top of the chocolate strips to soften. Cover the top with bacon.

Maple Syrup Pudding with Bacon
Recipe courtesy of Katrina Markoff, owner of Vosges Haut-Chocolat

79 g (5½ tbsp.) cream
1 vanilla bean
128 g (4½ oz.) milk chocolate chunks
45 g (3 tbsp.) maple syrup
1 lb bacon strips, cooked

Yield: 1 cup

Heat cream with vanilla bean over low heat, infuse for 10 minutes and then discard the bean. Bring cream to a boil.

Pour cream over milk chocolate chunks; stir with spoon.

Add maple syrup.

Fill shot glass halfway with mixture, with one strip of bacon sticking out from top. Serve warm.

Watch TIME’s video “Bacon Chocolate Bar.”

See the best recipes using Spam.

Chocolate Crème with Caramelized Banana, Bacon and Burnt Milk Ice Cream
Recipe courtesy of Chef Ramon Perez of Los Angeles’ Sona

Ice cream:
32 oz. (4 cups) milk
8 oz. cream
4 oz. sugar
5 egg yolks

In a heavy saucepan, heat milk until reduced to 24 oz. (3 cups) and burned at the bottom.

Deglaze the saucepan with reduced milk and cream. Add 2 oz. sugar to the milk mixture and mix remaining sugar with the egg yolks.

When milk comes to a boil, mix in egg yolks.

Cook mixture over medium heat, bringing temperature to 85°C (185°F). Freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Chocolate crème:
4 oz. Manjari chocolate (64% from Valrhona)
4 oz. Jivara chocolate (35% milk chocolate from Valrhona)
5 oz. cream
1 tbsp. glucose
1 oz. espresso beans
¼ tsp. kappa powder (seaweed powder)
Pinch of xanthan gum
7 oz. mineral water

Melt chocolates together in double boiler.

In a separate pot, boil cream with glucose and pour into chocolate.

Combine espresso beans, kappa powder, xanthan gum and water; blend, using an immersion blender. Pour into the chocolate and blend this mixture with the immersion blender.

Pour resulting liquid into a saucepan and cook over low-medium heat, whisking constantly until boiling.

Simmer for 1 minute, then pour into desired mold to set.

Bacon:
4 oz. bacon

Dice bacon into ¼-inch pieces. Sauté in a pan until fat renders and pieces are crispy. Using a slotted spoon, move the pieces to a paper towel to drain off excess fat.

Caramelized banana:
1 banana, sliced
3 oz. (6 tbsp.) sugar
1 tbsp. butter
1 cup milk

Peel and cut banana into slices.

Place a medium sauté pan over high heat and add sugar. Allow the sugar to caramelize dry in the pan; then add butter and banana slices.

Allow bananas to caramelize well then remove from pan leaving pan “juices” behind.

Deglaze pan with milk.

To plate:
Using ring cutter, cut three rings of chocolate crème.

Place caramelized banana around rings and sprinkle with rendered bacon bits.

Top each crème ring with one small scoop of ice cream.

Watch TIME’s video “Bacon Chocolate Bar.”

See Chef Lidia Bastianich’s bread-recycling recipes.

Chocolate Bread Pudding with Bacon Crème Anglaise
Recipe courtesy of Chef Jerome Chang of New York City’s Dessert Truck

Serves 8

Bread pudding:
1 loaf of your favorite bread (we use a Pullman loaf)
3 cups heavy cream
140 g (½ cup plus 2 tbsp.) granulated sugar
38 g (1 1/3 oz.) 61% chocolate
38 g (1 1/3 oz.) 72% chocolate
100 g (3½ oz.) egg yolks
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 ° F.

Cut crusts off bread. Dice bread into ½-inch cubes.

Fill eight 4-oz. ramekins about halfway with bread.

In large saucepot, bring the heavy cream and sugar to a boil.

Add both chocolates to the hot cream and whisk until even and smooth.

Add yolks and salt, whisking until uniform.

Using a ladle or measuring cup, pour the chocolate mixture over the bread until about ¼-inch from the rim.

Bake puddings in oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until they jiggle.

Bacon crème anglaise:
Makes about 1 qt. of sauce

4 strips of your favorite bacon (we use an applewood-smoked bacon)
2 cups half-and-half
75 g (2 2/3 oz.) granulated sugar
100 g (3½ oz.) egg yolks

Cook the bacon in a skillet until well caramelized.

In a small saucepot, bring half-and-half to a boil.

Add the strips of bacon, but not the excess grease. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and let the bacon infuse for 15 minutes.

Prepare an ice bath by placing an empty bowl into a large container of ice water.

Add sugar to the half-and-half and boil mixture.

Pour about half of the mixture over the yolks, whisk together, then pour back into the saucepot.

Continuously stir the custard mix over medium-high heat with a wooden spoon until the custard no longer looks watery when a finger is drawn across the back of the spoon.

Strain the custard into the bowl on the ice bath and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until cold. Store for up to 3 days.

Watch TIME’s video “Bacon Chocolate Bar.”

See the best recipes using Spam.