What makes it double chocolate-y? It comes from the bread AND the custard. I made a batch (3 loaves to be exact) of chocolate bread last week for the first time, and didn’t put in enough water. Needless to say my breads turned out a bit dry (delicious though!)… I don’t want to waste all these loaves of bread, so I decided to make them into this dessert– and it tastes much better. The pudding is very moisted, rich and chocolate-y, but not very sweet at all. I added a lot of dried tart cherries to balance the richness and it turns out great. This recipe calls for a large 8x12x2 pan. We only had 1/3 of it and gave the rest to friends and neighbors.
Double Chocolate Bread Pudding
Homemade Chocolate Bread.
Double Chocolate Bread Pudding (makes one 8x12x2 rectangular glass baking pan)– adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups milk— see note below
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream— see note below
3/4 cup packed brown sugar— see note below
4 tbsp butter– cut into small pieces (optional)— see note below
8 oz bittersweet baking chocolate– break or chop into pieces— see note below
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tsp golden rum (optional, adjust to taste)
6 cups day-old Chocolate Bread– cut into cubes
1 1/2 cups dried tart cherries
Chopped toasted nuts (walnut, almond, hazelnut etc…) for sprinkling on top (optional)
Method:
- Add milk, whipping cream and sugar to a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add chocolate (and butter if used) and whisk until chocolate melts. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
- Arrange bread cubes and cherries in a 8x12x2 baking dish.
- Whisk together eggs and egg yolks in a bowl. Gradually add to the chocolate mixture. Whisk to blend well. Mix in vanilla extract and rum.
- Pour the chocolate mixture over the bread cubes and let it soak for 15 minutes. Push the bread down into the custard so the bread is well soaked.
- Cover loosely with foil, and poke several hole on the top to allow steam to evaporate. Bake in preheated 325°F oven for 50-60 minutes, until the center is firm to touch.
- Cool bread pudding for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle toasted nuts on the top and serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.
Regina’s Note:
- Milk/heavy whipping cream: I happened to have heavy whipping cream on hand, but you can use all milk (2% is fine, which will be 3 cups total).
- Brown sugar: This bread pudding is not very sweet because I used bittersweet baking chocolate. If you would like a sweeter version, increase brown sugar to 1 cup.
- Butter: I used heavy whipping cream AND butter, and find the bread pudding is too rich. So I suggest opt out butter unless you use all milk.
- Bittersweet baking chocolate: Feel free to use semi-sweet if you prefer, or combined bittersweet (4 oz) and semi-sweet(4 oz), which brings out nice balance.
- For a orange chocolate bread pudding, replacing 1 cup of milk with orange juice and add in 1 tbsp orange zest maybe??
