Chocolate Bread Pudding

Growing up, I was one heck of a lucky kid to go on oodles of road trips with the family, all across the country.  There are only a scant few states we didn’t visit but for the most part, we hit the vast majority of the continental U.S.

My brother doesn’t remember much of any of them, poor guy.  He’s got the worst memory; how he got so shafted, no idea.  Thankfully there’s me to remember loads of snippets.

One year we were at Tan-Tar-A in Missouri and I was sooo sick, I was hallucinating like crazy.  The first and only time that’s ever happened to me.  Snakes weaving in and around, little gnomes, butterflies and moths flying everywhere, thin slivers of silver metal rectangles shifting across the ceiling making shapes.

Needless to say I was a mess and made my parents nuts that night.  Surely they hardly got any sleep as I was constantly pestering them, “but don’t you see that??  And that?!  Snakes!!  In Jeff’s bed!!”

One year we were in Williamsburg, Virginia and did the whole colonial town thing they’ve got going on there.  It was really neat.  Later that evening we had dinner at one of the restaurants….I just realized oh, the internet, I can look all this up….doh!  Hahaha wow.

I mean, I’m not so delusional to think one of these restaurants is still making Chocolate Bread Pudding after all these mmrrphh mmrrph years but now I’m gonna look…..

The Christiana Campbell’s Tavern looks familiar…..but I guess it would because well, colonial architecture.

Ok, I’m asking my mom….

Yep, she says it’s Christiana Campbell’s Tavern.  Ah, my memory is still keen.  Whew.  

What a dinner, we had such a great time.  It wasn’t often we ordered desserts in restaurants but for some reason we did here, probably because we were having such a great time, and I had Chocolate Bread Pudding for the first time ever.  Jaw.  Drop.

And it was heaven.  Heaven in a little dish.  I mean, I was all like googlie-eyed, what is this gloriousness of warm chocolate softness before me.  I remember looking up at my parents like, “People.  Omg.”

And no joke, I kid you not, that dessert has haunted me ever since.  Haunted.  Decades.  Decades!  Right?!  And it’s been kind of a life’s quest to recreate what I remember.  Ok, not kind of, it has been.

Yum. Yummy yummy yum yum yum.

Over the years I’ve tried many a recipe, many, each lacking that un-grasp-able something that matched my memory.  

When I came across this recipe from Pastry Wiz though, this has closest resembled that long lost Chocolate Bread Pudding of yore.

And it’s super simple to make.  In mere minutes even.

Ok, you need ramekin cups* though.  Sorry.  If you don’t already have a stack, they are quite handy for assembling say, your dinner’s mis en place, or a baking mis en place, or other recipes, so you can get more than one use out of them.

And I know.  Every darn flippin’ recipe out there calls for a different size freakin’ ramekin cup, it’s annoying.  No one wants twelve different sizes, a bazillion of these perilously teetering around.  Who’s got that kind of storage, amiright?!

Now, the recipe originally called for one cup ramekins.  I’ve long had solely four ounce but recently purchased six ouncers; no others will be added to my collection.  I mean, seriously.  C’mon.  Besides, eight ounces of this rich dessert might leave you feeling, ooophff a bit explode-y, so use your four.  Or if you have six, no worries, you can use those too.  Or if you have eights, go ahead and use those.

Really, just split the recipe up between your ramekins and keep an eye on them in the oven.  Easy peasy, problem solved, panic usurped.

What’s even more rockstar about this recipe?  Its versatility and flexibility:

Make it with fresh bread, day old bread, stale bread.  Any type of bread.  French, Italian, Challah, white, maybe even wheat.  Crusty bread or not crusty bread.  Keep the crust, cut off the crust.

Bread. Chocolate. Eggs. Why do I have 2 here?  Huh.

Ok but wait, sure you can make this with bread, any bread, but, and I hope you’re sitting down, you can also use chocolate cake.  Riiiiiiight?!  I have and it’s damn freakin’ amazing.  So go ahead, make this cake or another I'll share later or you could maybe try a yellow cake even.  I know, I know, I treat you right.

Break up the bread cubes (or cake!) into smaller chunks or leave them larger.  Grind them up.  Or have a mix of sizes.

Choppity chop, bread cubes.

Make this with semisweet chocolate, dark chocolate, milk if you prefer.  A combo.  White chocolate even.

Add an extra egg to make the whole shebang more custard-y and eggy.  Add more cinnamon.  Add other spices.  Coffee.  Toss in pecans or walnuts.

Use milk, half and half, or heavy cream.  Or a combo of two.

Serve it hot, warm, room temp, or even cold.  Top with ice cream, whipped cream, Bailey’s cream.  Or leave it plain.

I think you get the gist here.

Ok, super simpleness ahead to a ragingly awesome dessert.  Ready?

Add all your dry to the pool of melted chocolate.

 

Give a good strong whisk and you end up with a stiff, grainy mix.

 

Slowly pour in the milk while whisking, add in that slightly beaten egg and give a good healthy whipping.

 

Toss in the bread cubes, let soak a few minutes, and give a whisk to break up the cubes (or not).

 

Split the bread pudding mix between your ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake….

….and voila, oh yes.

Note:  This content originally appeared on Flaky Bakers.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Yield

8

Prep time

15 Min

Cook time

15 Min

Total time

30 Min

A rich and decadent baked chocolate pudding with a lusciously creamy bready-ness.

Ingredients

• 6 ounces (170 g) chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup (99 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.5 g) fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups (341 ml) milk
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 2 1/2 cups (210 g) bread cubes

Instructions

1. Butter six to eight ramekins (enough ramekins to hold the very approximately 32 ounces of finished mix) and set them on a rimmed cookie sheet.
2. Begin preheating the oven to 400° F or 204° C.
3. Melt the chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl, 30 seconds at a time stirring thoroughly until melted and smooth.
4. Add the sugar, salt, and cinnamon, stirring or whisking to combine. The mixture will be thick and grainy.
5. Add the milk and whisk to dissolve the sugar then add the egg. Continue to whisk until everything is thoroughly combined.
6. Add the bread, stir and dunk it so all the bread is dampened by the liquid and let it sit to soak for a few minutes. Whisk again to break up the bread cubes.
7. Divide the bread pudding mix between the ramekins and place the cookie sheet in the oven for 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of ramekin that was used.
8. The edges will look softly cake-like when ready and the centers will look slightly under done. Remove from the oven and let cool.
9. To store, cover with plastic wrap and keep chilled in the refrigerator. They can be reheated in the microwave.

Notes:

Adapted from Pastry Wiz who adapted from Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate* by Barbara Myers.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

223.93

Fat (grams)

7.76

Sat. Fat (grams)

4.51

Carbs (grams)

33.76

Fiber (grams)

1.15

Net carbs

32.62

Sugar (grams)

26.54

Protein (grams)

5.07

Sodium (milligrams)

173.28

Cholesterol (grams)

30.43

Please see the "info" section for nutrition details.

chocolate, bread pudding

recipe

American

Created using The Recipes Generator

*The ramekins and Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate book are Amazon affiliate links.  Thanks!  Please see the right sidebar for more info.