This chocolate bread pudding is the definition of rich and decadent. Made with cocoa powder, semi-sweet, bittersweet chocolate, it is the perfect dessert for chocolate lovers. Top it with fresh fruit, ice cream, whipped cream or just eat it plain, it makes a great way to end a meal or a special breakfast.
This bread pudding is a rich and flavorful dessert that is perfect for anyone that loves chocolate. While it takes a little bit of effort, and I mean just a little bit, it is well worth it. You can serve it as a warm treat after dinner or make it the night before and have a fabulous breakfast with a nice hot cup of coffee. It is perfect for holidays and special occasions. You can also portion it out into smaller baking dishes for individual servings for your or your family and friends.
In this recipe
Simplicity is the name of the game when it comes to this recipe. If you have some bread lying about in your kitchen then you may be able to make this without even leaving the house. All the ingredients are easy to get a hold of making this a great recipe to “throw together.”
Stale bread: this is the staple of a good bread pudding. You want a good crusty loaf of bread that is a day old or so.
Half and half: this will add to the richness of the dish and has more fat than whole milk, however you can use milk instead or a combination of both milk and half and half.
Cocoa powder: provides that extra chocolate flavor and helps reduce the sweetness of the bread pudding.
Why do I want stale bread for bread pudding?
One of the biggest reasons is that it can absorb as much of the liquid as possible. When the bread is too fresh there is still a fair amount of moisture in it. This will prevent the bread from absorbing all of the milk, cream, and eggs. There is a limit to how dry the bread should be, however, if it is too dry it will not absorb anything quickly requiring you to let it soak overnight to get the same results. If you are making it the night before then you can have drier bread than if you are making it the same day. In my experience, 1-3 days old works the best.
Making sure the bread fits
One of the things that you want to make sure is that the bread pudding fits into the baking dish. While my recipe calls for an 8 x 8-inch baking dish, you can use any size that you like. One of the things that I will do is before I grease the baking dish is that I put all of the bread into it. If everything fits nicely inside, then you are good to go. I prefer a thicker layer of bread pudding, so I use a smaller dish. However, you can use a 9 x 13 or any other sized dish as long as all of the bread fits.
Foolproof way of heating the chocolate
When making the bread pudding you will need melted chocolate. I have found that the best way of doing that is to do it gently. Putting it in the microwave or melting it in a saucepan can potentially cause burning. In order to heat it gently you will want the whisk the chocolate powder and half and half in a saucepan over medium heat. Once it starts to steam but not scald you will take it off of the heat and pour over the chocolate. Wait 5 minutes and you will have perfectly melted chocolate every single time.
Baking the perfect chocolate bread pudding
There are a couple of things that you can do that will give you a great chocolate bread pudding. The first one is to gently stir the bread every ten minutes in the mixing bowl. This will ensure that all of the cubes of bread get a chance to absorb the cream and half and half. The second little trick you can do is to cover the chocolate bread pudding with foil for the first half of the baking time then remove the foil and finish baking. It will help keep the top from drying out too much but still getting that nice crunchy top.
Looking for other bread pudding recipes?
Chocolate Bread Pudding
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Whisk
- 8 x 8 inch baking dish
- Mixing Bowl
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds bread cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 ½ cups half-and-half
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 eggs
- 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped
- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
- ¼ cup cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat add the cocoa powder and half and half. Whisk to combine. Gently continue to whisk until you see a small amount of steam rising from the milk. Remove from the heat.
- In a mixing bowl add the chopped chocolate and pour the hot half and half on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes to let the chocolate melt.
- Add the cream, sugar, espresso powder, salt, and eggs. Whisk to combine. Add the bread and mix until everything is evenly coated. Let sit for at least 30 minutes stirring every ten minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, 177°C, or gas mark 4. Grease an 8 x 8-inch baking dish.
- Pour the bread mixture into the baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 25 minutes.
- Top with fresh fruit, caramel sauce, butterscotch sauce, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, or powdered sugar if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
