A friend shared this recipe after I complained about having too much sourdough bread. It's a rich, creamy chocolate bread pudding that's perfect for turning leftover bread into an easy chocolate dessert. I've been making it with sourdough, but it should work just as well with brioche, challah, French bread or even sturdy sandwich bread.
What I love most about this recipe is the texture. The custard is loaded with bittersweet chocolate, so as the bread bakes it absorbs the chocolate mixture while still leaving behind a soft layer of chocolate sauce. The result is somewhere between a traditional bread pudding and a warm chocolate pudding cake.
The exact texture will vary depending on the bread you use. Sourdough gives the pudding a slightly firmer, chewier texture, while brioche or challah should make it softer and more custardy. For the batch in the photos, I added dried sour cherries, which paired beautifully with the bittersweet chocolate.
Extra Small Batch Version
This recipe makes an 8-inch square pan, but it's easy to scale down for a small baking dish or mini casserole. I often make one-third of the recipe in a 4-inch or 5-inch square dish when I'm just testing or using up a small amount of bread.
The baking time doesn't change much when you reduce the recipe. Start checking a few minutes early and bake until the custard is mostly set but still looks soft in the center. The photo at the top shows the pudding just after baking.
How to Serve It
This bread pudding is best served slightly warm, when the chocolate sauce is still soft and creamy. A scoop of vanilla ice cream melting into the warm pudding is hard to beat.
You can also let the pudding cool completely, chill it until firm and serve it cold or at room temperature. When chilled, it slices neatly and has a texture that's almost like a dense chocolate cake. Individual portions can be warmed briefly in the microwave before serving with whipped cream or ice cream.
Recipe
Chocolate Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 6 cups cubed toasted sourdough bread (210 grams)
- 1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream (300 grams)
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk (300 grams)
- 12 oz Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chips (60% cacao)**
- ½ cup sugar (100 grams)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt (optional) -- depends on saltiness of the bread
Additions (optional)
- 3 tablespoons dried cherries
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup whipped cream or whipped topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish or casserole that holds about 2 quarts.
- In a saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Stir until melted.
- Put the toasted bread cubes in a large bowl, then pour the chocolate mixture over and stir well. Let stand for 10 minutes while you mix the other ingredients.
- Whisk together the sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt (if using) then add to the bread mixture and stir well. If using dried cherries, stir them in too.
- Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil. Set the baking dish on a rimmed sheet pan and bake for 35 minutes or until pudding appears soft set. The bread will have absorbed most of the mixture, but you'll also have a layer of soft chocolate mixture on the top.
- Serve hot with a scoop of ice cream or let cool, then chill and slice as you would chocolate cake. Warm each plate gently before topping with whipped cream or ice cream.
Notes
For the chocolate, I used Ghirardelli brand bittersweet chips. Make sure whatever chocolate you use is between 43 and 63% cacao, otherwise you may need more sugar.
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