Comfort food is coming in HOT today in the form of this chocolate bread pudding!
If you are someone who likes melty, rich, decadent chocolate and is also interested in having AN ENTIRE LOAF of bread in your dessert A) you are my soul sister and B) this warm chocolate bread pudding is going to rock your world.
One of my favorite pastimes is torturing my loved ones with obscure, mostly food-related hypothetical questions like: “if you were an ingredient in a chocolate chip cookie, which one would you be and why?” or, “if you could only eat food that started with one letter for the rest of your life, what letter would you choose?”. These are usually met with an eye roll and a change of subject, but occasionally I catch someone in a weak moment and they indulge me.
This chocolate bread pudding has prompted the question, “if your personality were a dessert, what would it be and why?”. And in all honesty, I’m fishing: I want to be chocolate bread pudding.
Specifically, this chocolate bread pudding.
It’s casual and comforting, but also dressed up in a laid-back, unfussy way.
(You should know that I know that I’m not cool enough to be this chocolate bread pudding. What I’m really telling you is that I have a major friend crush on this dark chocolate bread pudding and think it’s a total winner and that you should definitely make it.)
And making bread pudding is real easy. You just cube up a loaf of bread, pour a custardy liquid over it, bake it, and BOOM. Transformed into a decadent dessert.
Simple enough for a casual night in, but with a nice enough presentation to work for a fancier affair.
This chocolate bread pudding is everything I want in a dessert: Intense, gooey chocolate; warm comfort food feels; AN ENTIRE LOAF OF GOOD BREAD. Live all your wildest dreams and eat it with ice cream. Leftovers are also good with yogurt for breakfast!
Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 (1 pound) loaf of bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (see note)
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Directions
Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish. Toss the bread cubes with 1 cup of the chocolate chips and place in baking dish.
Add sugar, cocoa, milk, and salt to a medium saucepan and heat over medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all chocolate has melted completely and the mixture is smooth.
Whisk together eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. Gradually pour in the heated milk mixture while whisking vigorously. Whisk quickly so eggs don’t scramble! Pour over bread cubes. Smoosh cubes so they are submerged in liquid. Let rest for 20-30 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake 45-50 minutes. Custard should be wobbly, but not liquid.
Serve warm topped with ice cream, whipped cream, or heavy cream.
Brioche, challah, Italian, or French bread will all work well for this recipe!
Adapted from King Arthur Flour.
