Chocolate Bread Pudding
I know you guys want chocolate but I just wanted to remind you all of this awesome giveaway – The great folks over at CSN have offered to give one of my readers a gift certificate for $55 to put towards the purchase of anything in their online stores. Have you heard of them? Well, they sell just about anything AND the kitchen sink. From modern bedding to shoes to kitchen essentials (of course), there isn’t anything you won’t find on one of CSN’s 200+ websites.
Click here to find out how you can enter.
Now on to chocolate! Forget Valentine’s Day. Any day is as good a day to make this wonderful dessert. Proceed with caution though as copious amounts of challah may be consumed in the process of making it and never make it into the baking dish. (Not that that happened to me…I’m just sayin…be careful.) And you may feel an impulse to drink the chocolate custard before pouring on top of the bread. (Not that I for a second thought that…cuz remember…I’m a vanilla girl through and through.)
If you fight the urge to eat all the bread and drink the pudding before baking this dessert you will be handsomely rewarded. It’s a breeze to put together and chocked full of puddingy-bready-chocolatey goodness. Stale bread never tasted so good.
Chocolate Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
12 ounces Challah bread, preferably stale
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely choppedDirections:
Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes. If the bread is stale, put it into the baking pan 9x13 baking pan. If it is not stale, spread it out on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven to “stale” it for about 10 minutes, then toss into the pan.
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and cream but do not boil.
Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, yolks, and sugar together in a bowl. Still whisking, slowly drizzle in about one quarter of the hot milk — this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they don’t curdle/cook. While still whisking, slowly pour in the rest of the hot milk. Add the chocolate and whisk it in gently until it is melted and the custard is smooth. Tap the bowl against the counter to pop any bubbles that might have formed, then pour the custard over the bread and press the bread gently with the back of a spoon to help cover it with liquid. Leave the pan on the counter, giving the bread the back-of-the-spoon treatment now and then, for 30 minutes.
Put the baking dish holding the unbaked pudding into the roasting pan, and then slide the pan setup into the oven and very carefully pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the pudding pan. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the pudding is uniformly puffed, the top is dull and dry and a thin knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Transfer the baking pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.
You could serve this pudding warm, but it is better at cool room temperature or even chilled — it also cuts better when it is cold. Serve the pudding simply with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar or less simply with vanilla (or rum or Grand Marnier or brandy) crème anglaise, chocolate sauce, or whipped cream, or crème fraîche.
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CookiePie — February 8, 2011 @ 4:38 pm
Yum!!! That is gorgeous!
I make mine with chocolate croissants, just to gild the lily
Amy — February 8, 2011 @ 5:08 pm
“…and you may feel an impulse to drink the chocolate custard before pouring on top of the bread.” WORD. I could live off of bread, chocolate and cheese. So I’ll take a bowl of this and just have a slice of brie on the side, thankyouverymuch. *salivating*
Jessica of My Baking Heart — February 8, 2011 @ 5:28 pm
Yummy & such pretty pictures! How funny that we both posted chocolate bread pudding today! Mine was a little boozy, though!
vanillasugarblog — February 8, 2011 @ 6:03 pm
chica your photos are getting better and better darling. nice!
Rosa — February 8, 2011 @ 6:07 pm
Terrific! That is a marvelous treat.
Cheers,
Rosa
Bridgett — February 8, 2011 @ 7:19 pm
Wow, this looks so comforting and perfectly chocolatey. Your photos are fabulous too.
Lori — February 8, 2011 @ 9:07 pm
I have a major weakness for bread pudding. When you throw chocolate in the mix, it’s all over with. This looks incredible!
Jennifurla — February 8, 2011 @ 9:20 pm
My hubby prefers anything chocolate for dessert, this would be great. I just love the texture.
Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction — February 8, 2011 @ 9:53 pm
Ooh… Yum! I love chocolate bread pudding. They serve it at the Hotel Hershey (which is near my house) as a part of their brunch, and I dream about it all the time. I just love it! I will have to make this one.
anjelina — February 8, 2011 @ 11:56 pm
Bread Pudding looks yum and chocolaty.
Yvette Marquez — February 8, 2011 @ 11:59 pm
WOWZA!!! You had me at chocolate! Sounds amazing!
judy — February 9, 2011 @ 12:28 am
mmmmm…thanks!
Katrina — February 9, 2011 @ 7:30 am
This bread pudding sounds amazing. Great recipe!
Michelle — February 9, 2011 @ 4:03 pm
How did you know I wanted something rich and chocolaty? Now if only I could grab it through my screen.
Xiaolu — February 9, 2011 @ 5:36 pm
Oh man, this takes me back to my senior year cruise. The last night there was a chocolate buffet at midnight with towers of cream puffs, all sorts of cakes and brownies, and chocolate bread pudding. It was the last that I kept going back to, so I definitely gotta make this.
Pamela — February 9, 2011 @ 5:41 pm
Looks luscious! And thank you so much for taking the time to comment on my blog posts. I appreciate it!
Mariko — February 9, 2011 @ 9:36 pm
You always speak my language. Chocolate? yes. Bread? Yes.
Put it together with creaminess? YES! YES! YES!
(Did that sound too orgasmic?)
Eliana replied: — February 9th, 2011 @ 9:39 pm
Not at all too orgasmic Mariko. More like perfect
Gloria — February 9, 2011 @ 11:49 pm
I’m glad to see a vanilla girl can give us chocolate girls some love! Your bread pudding looks delicious.
Emily — February 10, 2011 @ 2:51 am
Yum. I’m all about bread pudding. None of my family likes it but I adore it. This looks so very delicious!
Bonnie — February 10, 2011 @ 11:23 am
Is there anything chocolate that isn’t good? I just noticed that you live in Brooklyn. Our older son lived in Park Slope for several years and loved it. We loved visiting. He’s now in San Francisco but really prefers NYC. He also likes chocolate = )!!
Best,
Bonnie
Bren — February 10, 2011 @ 1:29 pm
ay mija, que rico esta este pudin! i love it. i want to stick my whole hand in there and then bite it!
deelish!
Lauren from Lauren's Latest — February 10, 2011 @ 4:28 pm
How decadent! I’ve been meaning to make chocolate bread pudding for a while now. Maybe now is the time!
Juliana — February 10, 2011 @ 4:53 pm
Yummie, love bread pudding and even more being “chocolate”…yours look delicious
Mary — February 10, 2011 @ 5:44 pm
This is a perfect dessert for a special occasion. It looks and sounds wonderful. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings…Mary
Velva — February 10, 2011 @ 7:58 pm
I really like your style of desserts- Bread pudding, is something I really enjoy but, have not eaten often (sigh).
Your past desserts with coconut, lime, rice pudding these are all the flavors and textures in desserts that I really enjoy.
See you at Blogher.
Velva
5 Star Foodie — February 10, 2011 @ 10:14 pm
Gorgeous! I would so love a bite right now, definitely no need to wait for Valentine’s day!
joanne — February 11, 2011 @ 10:53 am
Even though i call myself a vanilla girl, I definitely have a propensity for drinking things like chocolate custard or eating chocolate cupcake batter. It’s very strange.
I love bread pudding and I’m pretty sure I could inhale most or all of this in one sitting. Which means it will be perfect for V Day!
Jackie — February 11, 2011 @ 11:06 am
I’m a chocolate and vanilla girl. Actually, I’m a all over sweets girl! This bread pudding looks amazing and its a great alternative to the traditional version. Me likey very much!!
Lisa @ The Cooking Bride — February 11, 2011 @ 5:09 pm
I’m normally not a big bread pudding fan, but I could see how this might change my mind!
Nisrine, Dinners & Dreams — February 11, 2011 @ 8:18 pm
Bread pudding is one of the most comforting desserts ever. Add chocolate and you have dessert heaven. Yum!
Have a wonderful weekend and a fabulous V-Day!
Barbara Bakes — February 11, 2011 @ 8:23 pm
This might be the most decadent bread pudding I’ve seen! It sounds wonderful.
Abby — February 11, 2011 @ 8:44 pm
This gal can never have enough chocolate. Those photos are enough to make me drool on my screen!
Prerna@IndianSimmer — February 11, 2011 @ 10:28 pm
Thanks for all those lovely comments on my blog Eliana! And just so u know that bread pudding just brightened my gloomy day so thank you for that
You have a really beautiful space here!
naomi — February 12, 2011 @ 2:53 am
I love bread pudding, especially chocolate bread pudding! This looks mouthwatering!
Kerstin — February 13, 2011 @ 12:54 pm
What an indulgent treat – yum!! I would make a loaf of challah just to make this