Name: Chocolate Bread Pudding
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American, British, English
Ingredients: 9 slices good quality bread (day old), I used Challah bread; 5 oz good quality dark chocolate, 70-75% cocoa solids; 5 tablespoons butter; 16 fl oz (1 pint) heavy organic whipping cream; 4 tablespoons bourbon (or dark rum) substitute maple syrup or 1 tablespoon vanilla; ½ cup (mounded) caster sugar, superfine or baker's sugar (see notes how to make your own); good pinch of cinnamon; 3 large eggs; Creme Anglaise for serving (optional)

Jump to Recipe

Okay, first put out of your head that this is a plain ol’ bread pudding, because this easy Chocolate Bread Pudding is ANYTHING but ordinary! Simple, whole food ingredients, turn bread, chocolate, cream and eggs into a rich, gooey, decadent chocolate delight!

Make it for a special breakfast or dessert! Think Christmas morning, Valentine’s treat, Easter…you get the idea!

Looking for more make ahead delicious breakfasts? Try our Overnight Cinnamon French Toast, Soft Gooey Cinnamon Rolls, or Chile Relleno Casserole.

chocolate bread pudding, with gooey spoonful of bread pudding

A dear friend of mine brought this delicious dessert over for my birthday last year and WOWZA! I had to have the recipe.

Spoonful of gooey, pudding like chocolate bread pudding

It’s a recipe from Delia Online, a lovely food and so much more blog! I have made a few slight adaptations for my tastes.

CAN I MAKE BREAD PUDDING AHEAD OF TIME?

Yes, in fact, the longer it will sit the better. What I love most about this recipe, is that it is better to make it 1-2 days ahead of time, allowing all those flavors to mingle before baking.

Know what? I made this for my book club and due to a snowstorm was cancelled, it actually stayed in my fridge for 5 days before I baked it and it turned out great!

Spoon of vanilla creme anglaise pouring over the chocolate bread pudding in crystal glass.

Ingredients for Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding

Ingredients for chocolate bread pudding. Ghirardelli chocolate, bakers sugar, whiskey, challah bread, butter, eggs. 2. Heavy cream. 3. pouring in sugar. 4. pouring in whiskey

9 slices good quality bread (day old), I used Challah bread (other soft, breads like brioche or a good white bread work well too)
5 oz good quality dark chocolate, 70-75% cocoa solids
5 Tablespoons butter
16 fl oz (1 pint) heavy organic whipping cream

4 tablespoons bourbon (or dark rum)
½ cup (mounded) caster sugar, superfine or bakers sugar (see notes how to make your own)
good pinch of cinnamon
3 large eggs

Process shots double boiler, melting chocolate, cream and butter. 2. whisking chocolate mixture 3. Adding warm chocolate to egg mixture. 4. adding warm egg chocolate sauce to bottom of pan.

What in the world is Caster Sugar?

For most American’s we probably have heard the term, but have no idea what Caster sugar is? Maybe you are more familiar with these terms; Superfine or Baker’s Sugar, most grocery stores care superfine sugar.

Making your Own Caster Sugar

You can easily make your own caster sugar by simply placing the amount of sugar you need for your recipe (maybe a titch more to account for any loss) into a food processor.

Process for about 1-2 minutes watching closely, if you go too long you will make powdered sugar. You may want to place a towel over the top of the processor as the dust sneaks its way out of the processor.

Process shots for chocolate bread pudding. 1. adding triangles of challah bread to pan. 2. ladle of chocolate mixture pouring over challah bread slices. 3. Fork pressing bread slices into chocolate mixture. 4. plastic wrap pressed firmly over the top

Equipment Needed For Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding

Ovenproof dish about 7×9 inches x 2 inches deep, you can use a 9×9 or 8×8 square dish as long as it is deep. My friend made the pudding in this beautiful dish, gifting me the dish as well! A great idea for a potluck, combining the hostess gift into the dish!
Sturdy whisk
Pyrex Bowl for a double boiler, I have found these work the best!
Ladle

Pinterest image two images. Top image of man holding pan of chocolate bread pudding. Bottom image serving of chocolate bread pudding in crystal glass with vanilla creme anglaise on top.

Scroll down to the recipe to see all of the details on how to make this delicious Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding.

What I love about this bread pudding the most? Make it for a rich, special breakfast, think of it as Chocolate Overnight French Toast. Make it for a potluck treat. Or as a special dessert. How amazing would this be to pop in the oven on Christmas morning!

Serving Ideas for Easy Chocolate Bread Pudding

Grab a few of your prettiest glasses; try dessert crystal, wine glasses, martini glasses, be creative!
Make a batch of this amazing Creme Anglaise sauce, a simple pourable vanilla custard sauce that will elevate this bread pudding even higher!

GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

Find a delicious soft gluten free bread, everything else else is already gluten free!

More Scrumptious Treats

Try this decadent and EASY White Chocolate Cheesecake
Cinnamon Rolls (good all year round, but especially good during the holidays!
Salted Graham Bites

YES! PIN to your favorite Christmas Breakfast board.

chocolate bread pudding pin with creme anglaise. image has crystal glass with serving of gooey chocolate bread pudding drizzled in creme anglaise.

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6-8

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

This Chocolate Bread Pudding uses whole food ingredients; turning bread, chocolate, cream and eggs into a rich, decadent chocolate delight! Perfect for a special breakfast or dessert!

Ingredients

9 slices good quality bread (day old), I used Challah bread
5 oz good quality dark chocolate, 70-75% cocoa solids
5 tablespoons butter
16 fl oz (1 pint) heavy organic whipping cream
4 tablespoons bourbon (or dark rum) substitute maple syrup or 1 tablespoon vanilla
½ cup (mounded) caster sugar, superfine or baker's sugar (see notes how to make your own)
good pinch of cinnamon
3 large eggs
Creme Anglaise for serving (optional)

Instructions

Prepare Bread Pudding 1-2 days in Advance

Remove crusts from the sliced bread. You should have about 9, square (ish) pieces of bread. Cut into 4 triangles. In a glass bowl set over a saucepan with barely simmering water (make sure the bowl does not touch the water), place chocolate pieces, whipping cream, bourbon, sugar, butter and cinnamon.

Wait until the chocolate and butter have melted, stirring gently making sure sugar has dissolved. Remove the bowl from heat and give it a good stir to mix all of the ingredients.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the eggs. Using a ladle, while whisking, pour the a small amount of eggs into the chocolate mixture to temper the eggs, so you do not cook them! Continue adding a little at a time until you have added an entire ladle of eggs. Whisk egg-chocolate mixture into the balance of the eggs until thoroughly blended.

Lightly butter casserole dish (butter is better than spray oil in this case as it will add to the richness of the pudding and keep it from sticking).

Ladle about ½ inch of the chocolate mixture into the dish, arranging one layer of the bread triangles over the chocolate, overlapping in rows. Pour half the remaining chocolate mixture over the first layer. Repeat with the rest of the bread triangles finishing off with the rest of the chocolate mixture.

Use a fork to gently press the bread into the liquid mixture making sure all pieces are soaked. Cover the dish with plastic wrap, allowing to sit at room temperature for 2 hours before transferring to the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours, ideally 48 hours, but due to life getting in the way, mine sat for 5 days in the fridge and turned out amazing.

Baking Chocolate Bread Pudding

Preheat oven to 350° F and move oven rack to higher side of oven (not all the way to the top). Remove plastic wrap from dish and bake for 30-35 minutes, checking at 25. Top should be crunch and the inside "soft and squidgy" a quote from the original recipe, love that description! Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with well chilled heavy cream or try it with this amazing Creme Anglaise!

Notes

How to Make Your Own Caster Sugar

You can easily make your own caster sugar by simply placing a slightly greater amount of sugar that you will need in your recipe into a food processor. Process for about 1-2 minutes watching closely, if you go too long you will make powdered sugar. You may want to place a towel over the top of the processor as the dust sneaks its way out of the processor.