Offer me bread pudding and I’ll take a hard pass. The thought of soggy white bread swimming in a pool of cream sauce sounds like an epic waste of calories. But as I work to expand my baking repertoire this year, I decided to dive into this mysterious dessert. Like, what really is bread pudding? What are you? What are you not? What can you be? Why am I talking to you? Pull up a chair and listen up. Bread pudding can be delicious. REALLY REALLY DELICIOUS. And this is coming from someone who said nope!!!! to this dessert only a few weeks ago. There’s all sorts of ways to bake bread pudding, but this chocolate bread pudding recipe—complete with buttery challah bread and real chocolate—is my favorite. My only regret is waiting so long to try it this way!
What Does Chocolate Bread Pudding Taste Like?
This chocolate bread pudding tastes like warm brownie squares, monkey bread, and French toast casserole all in one. It’s as fabulously rich as my flourless chocolate cake. Do I really need to continue? Pair this with rivers of salted caramel, pockets of melty chocolate chips, juicy raspberries and fresh whipped cream on top… and you basically have a mountain of chocolate covered calories. I mean a mountain of underrated delicious texture that totally deserves a chance in your kitchen too. Don’t waste another second dismissing bread pudding. This dark chocolate bread pudding is legit!
2 Parts to Chocolate Bread Pudding
Remember, stale bread is best. Mix the bread with half of the chocolate custard, then pour the remaining custard on top of it all. Why are you doing it this way? So there’s more pockets of warm chocolate custard!!
Helpful Tips for Chocolate Bread Pudding
For extra texture, I suggest an add-in or two. I highly recommend chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (pick up a third 4-ounce chocolate bar). These chunks of chocolate paired with the chocolate soaked bread is outstanding. I also like dried cherries, peanut butter chips, or chopped pecans. I can’t say this enough: I loved the chocolate chips between the soft chocolate-soaked bread. And I can’t say this enough either: this tastes like a pan of warm brownies. But better. Let the bread pudding sit before baking so the bread can soak up some of the custard. Simply wait 5 minutes, preheat the oven, and by the time the oven’s ready… so is the bread pudding.
Top It Off!
Besides the texture and the whole “pan of warm brownies” element, what I love most about this dark chocolate bread pudding is its versatility. Do you have to add salted caramel? Of course not. Can you add chopped pecans and top with coffee ice cream? It’s encouraged. What about adding dried cherries or peanut butter chips? Go for it. As long as you follow this cream-milk-egg-chocolate ratio, you can really add anything you want. I haven’t tried this bread pudding with the raspberries mixed into the unbaked bread pudding, but I’m eager to try. I just dotted a few on top for serving. I brought this over to my in-laws to taste since I’m not really a bread pudding connoisseur. They LOVED it. There’s a few recipe notes, so make sure you read them before beginning. I PROMISE you’ll be a bread pudding fan after 1 bite. I certainly am! Does anyone have a traditional bread pudding recipe I should try? I’m still holding out hope!
