Chocolate Bread Pudding
By America's Test KitchenPublished on June 21, 2011
Time
2 hours, plus 30 minutes cooling
Yield
Serves 12
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Challah can be found in most bakeries and many supermarkets. It is important to use Dutch-processed cocoa in this recipe. Natural cocoa powder will make the bread pudding too bitter.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Toast bread on rimmed baking sheet, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, about 30 minutes. Transfer to large bowl.
- Increase oven temperature to 325 degrees. Grease 13- by 9-inch baking pan. Heat 1½ cups cream, milk, cocoa, espresso, and ½ cup sugar in saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until steaming and sugar dissolves. Pour warm cream mixture over toasted bread and let stand, tossing occasionally, until liquid has been absorbed, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring additional 1 cup cream to simmer in saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until smooth. Transfer 1 cup chocolate mixture to medium bowl and let cool 5 minutes (cover pan and reserve remaining chocolate mixture for serving). Add egg yolks, remaining cream, and remaining sugar to bowl with chocolate mixture and whisk to combine.
- Transfer soaked bread mixture to prepared pan and pour chocolate custard mixture evenly over bread. Bake until pudding is just set and surface is slightly crisp, about 45 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes. Warm reserved chocolate mixture over low heat, then pour over bread pudding. Serve. (Leftover bread pudding should be refrigerated; reheat individual portions in microwave.)
- Make Ahead: In step 4, once soaked bread mixture has been transferred to prepared pan, the pan can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. When ready to bake, remove plastic and proceed with recipe as directed, increasing baking time to 55 to 60 minutes. Let reserved chocolate serving sauce cool, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Heat sauce in microwave when needed.
Time
2 hours, plus 30 minutes coolingYield
Serves 12Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
The combination of cocoa powder and melted chocolate was key in our Chocolate Bread Pudding recipe—Dutch-processed cocoa provided a solid foundation of chocolate flavor, while melted semisweet chocolate provided richness. A bit of instant espresso powder also enhanced chocolate flavor without being identifiable on its own.
Since sandwich bread was a little light for the chocolaty custard, we used rich toasted challah in our Chocolate Bread Pudding for a better base. With the melted chocolate, the base was so thick that it wasn’t fully soaking into the bread. To thin the chocolate base, we soaked the toasted challah in a mixture of heavy cream, milk, and cocoa powder before adding in rich custard made with melted chocolate, egg yolks, cream, and sugar.
Before You Begin
Challah can be found in most bakeries and many supermarkets. It is important to use Dutch-processed cocoa in this recipe. Natural cocoa powder will make the bread pudding too bitter.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Toast bread on rimmed baking sheet, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, about 30 minutes. Transfer to large bowl.
- Increase oven temperature to 325 degrees. Grease 13- by 9-inch baking pan. Heat 1½ cups cream, milk, cocoa, espresso, and ½ cup sugar in saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until steaming and sugar dissolves. Pour warm cream mixture over toasted bread and let stand, tossing occasionally, until liquid has been absorbed, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring additional 1 cup cream to simmer in saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until smooth. Transfer 1 cup chocolate mixture to medium bowl and let cool 5 minutes (cover pan and reserve remaining chocolate mixture for serving). Add egg yolks, remaining cream, and remaining sugar to bowl with chocolate mixture and whisk to combine.
- Transfer soaked bread mixture to prepared pan and pour chocolate custard mixture evenly over bread. Bake until pudding is just set and surface is slightly crisp, about 45 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes. Warm reserved chocolate mixture over low heat, then pour over bread pudding. Serve. (Leftover bread pudding should be refrigerated; reheat individual portions in microwave.)
- Make Ahead: In step 4, once soaked bread mixture has been transferred to prepared pan, the pan can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. When ready to bake, remove plastic and proceed with recipe as directed, increasing baking time to 55 to 60 minutes. Let reserved chocolate serving sauce cool, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Heat sauce in microwave when needed.
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