Name: Chocolate Bread Pudding
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 5 cups French bread (cut into 1 inch cubes); 4 eggs; 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk; 1 cup nonfat milk (could use whole fat milk as well); 1½ teaspoons vanilla; 2 tablespoons cocoa powder; 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (divided)

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Chocolate Bread Pudding is a decadent dessert that’s creamy and sweet, with lots of chocolate-y chunks of soft, chewy bread and semi-sweet chocolate chips. This dessert is a dream mash-up for chocolate AND bread lovers!

Bread pudding was something my midwest Aunt would make from the scraps of bread left on her guests plate from dinner. No joke. She would clear plates, then take any half-eaten slices of bread off of the plates and pout them into a container. When she had enough, she’d make bread pudding. That’s frugality at it’s finest. She’d also wash paper plates but that’s a whole other story.

So bread pudding was never something I could get all that excited about. Until this Chocolate Bread Pudding that is. I mean CHOCOLATE + BREAD = two of my favorite foods mashed up together in dessert euphoria. Heaven.

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING

Bread Pudding is a pretty straight forward, simple dessert that consists of stale bread, milk, eggs and sugar. Raisins are often included in traditional recipes. Since we are making a chocolate version we need some creamy sweetness that comes from adding sweetened condensed milk. The result is a sticky sweet, chocolate-y rich and decadent dessert that will disappear before the ice cream melts on top.

This recipe starts with cubed french bread that’s either been left out overnight or baked for a few minutes in the oven to reduce the moisture. Eggs, milk, sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder and vanilla are whisked together and then poured over the bread. Give it 10-20 minutes to soak in, but you can press it lightly with your fingers to help the liquid really get into the bread.

Chocolate chips really are what give that explosive chocolate flavor, and they are sprinkled on top. They will soften but still hold their share in the oven, which is kind of pretty don’t you think?

WHAT IS THE BEST BREAD FOR BREAD PUDDING?

I prefer to use french bread because I think it’s the easiest to get your hands on a loaf. I mean, they sell it for about a dollar in just about every grocery store bakery. But brioche is slightly sweet and also makes an excellent base, as well as any denser white bread. Hawaiian rolls or even cinnamon rolls or croissants can be cut up and used in place of the french bread.

CAN YOU MAKE BREAD PUDDING AHEAD OF TIME?

Of course! Bread pudding, like an overnight French Toast, needs a little time to soak up the milk and soften the bread, so letting it sit overnight is great. You can definitely bake after just 10 or 15 minutes, like in this recipe, but the longer it sits, the softer the bread pudding will be.

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