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Mad About Food: Hot Chocolate Bread Pudding
Taste the holidays with this decadent, sweet comfort food
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The winter holidays are nearly here! I’m so excited to see all the festive and creative decorations, lights and holiday cheer.
We’ve had a rough end to the year, but we can still make the best of times with our friends and family during this holiday season.
This Hot Chocolate Bread Pudding is a super chocolaty, decadently sweet comfort food that will become a new family tradition and the most requested and conversational piece of your holiday festivities.
I wanted to marry two of my most requested items for the holidays together to create something warm, delicious and comforting, so I combined my bread pudding (look for my article for Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding), and my family’s favorite Hot Chocolate together —and it is a sure fire hit. A perfect pairing with coffee, RumChata or a nice cold glass of milk.
You can add your favorite candies, fruit or flavoring to create your own delicious dessert. Of course winter holidays allow for it all in abundance, from peppermint to pecans to semi chocolate chips to citrus. Just be creative but don’t be afraid to explore.
If you’re ready to light your home up with the wonderful aroma of chocolaty goodness, let’s roll up our sleeves, wash our hands and get started creating your very own version of Hot Chocolate Bread Pudding!
Recipe
Hot Chocolate Bread Pudding
Ingredients
1 loaf French bread
3 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 to 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
4 eggs
1 mound marshmallows. You can use meringue by whisking the egg whites with a couple tablespoons of sugar until stiff peaks form or you can hold the bowl upside down without it falling out.
Directions
Slice the loaf of French bread into 1-inch cubes, about 11 cups total. Trim the crust off if desired — pieces of crust make chewy bits in the pudding, which I love, but you might not.
If you're preparing this ahead, spread the cubes on a baking tray and leave out overnight. Otherwise, toast the bread cubes in a 350°F oven, tossing occasionally, until they are dry, 30 to 40 minutes. Staled bread cubes can be stored in an airtight container for several days.
When ready to make the pudding, prepare the cocoa custard filling. Warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat or in 30 second bursts in the microwave until warm to the touch but not steaming hot.
Remove the milk from heat and whisk in the cocoa, sugar, vanilla and salt. Taste and add more cocoa powder or sugar to taste. Cool to room temperature, then whisk in the eggs.
Fill a 2-quart (9 by 9-inch or deep 8 by 8-inch) baking dish with the bread cubes. Pack them in as tightly as possible — you may have some bread left over (this can be saved for breadcrumbs).
Pour the cocoa custard filling evenly over the top of the bread. The filling should come almost to the top of the dish with some peaks of bread cubes left exposed.
Cover the pudding and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325°F. Put the bread pudding on the counter to take the chill off as the oven heats.
Remove the covering from the pudding and place it in the heated oven. Bake until the tips of the bread cubes are crisp and dry and a cake tester inserted into the middle of the pudding emerges with only a little chocolate, 45 to 55 minutes.
Scatter the marshmallows over the top of the pudding. Turn on the broiler and place the pudding about 6 inches below the broiler element.
Watch the pudding very closely. When the marshmallows puff up and start to toast, remove the pudding from the oven.
Let the pudding cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Leftovers will keep for up to a week and can be eaten cold or reheated.
Source: Michelle Madden
Reach Michelle Madden at Da Munchie Plug LLC on Facebook.
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