Chocolate Bread Pudding
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Calling all chocolate lovers! Made from challah soaked in a rich chocolate custard, this dark chocolate bread pudding is pure comfort in every spoonful.
This rich chocolate bread pudding is the ultimate comfort food for chocolate lovers. Made with challah bread, a hot chocolate-flavored custard, and plenty of chocolate chunks, it’s a deeply chocolatey and satisfying dessert. I like to add a splash of bourbon to the custard to enhance the chocolate flavor, but if you’d rather not use alcohol, you can use brewed coffee instead. Serve the bread pudding warm from the oven topped with vanilla ice cream.
Table of Contents
“I made this for my husband for Valentine’s Day…He called it ‘a gastronomic explosion of chocolate deliciousness.’ And it truly is.”
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Bread Pudding
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate: Provides a rich and deep chocolate flavor. Choose a good quality chocolate for the best results.
- Whole Milk: The base of your custard, whole milk adds creaminess and richness.
- Sugar: Sweetens the pudding, balancing the bitterness of the chocolate and cocoa powder.
- Cocoa Powder: Enhances the chocolate flavor, giving the pudding an extra depth of chocolatey goodness.
- Unsalted Butter: Adds richness. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the amount of salt in the recipe.
- Bourbon: Adds wonderful depth of flavor.
- Cinnamon: Provides a warm, spicy undertone that complements the chocolate.
- Eggs: Essential for the custard base, eggs help to thicken the mixture and give it structure.
- Salt: Balances sweetness and enhances the overall flavor of the pudding.
- Vanilla Extract: A classic pairing with chocolate that rounds out the flavor.
- Challah: With pillowy texture and slightly sweet flavor, it’s perfect for soaking up the chocolate custard mixture.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Chop the chocolate into ¼-inch chunks. Reserve ⅓ cup and set aside (you’ll use this for sprinkling over the bread pudding before baking).
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the milk, sugar and cocoa powder. Add the butter and bring to a boil.
Off the heat, add the remaining chocolate, bourbon and cinnamon.
Whisk to combine.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt and vanilla extract.
Very gradually, pour the hot chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, whisking vigorously to combine (pour slowly, especially at the beginning, or the hot chocolate mixture will scramble the eggs).
Add the bread cubes to the chocolate custard.
Cover and let soak in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the chocolate bread mixture to the prepared baking dish. Scatter the reserved chocolate over top, then use a spoon to push about half of the chocolate bits down into the pudding.
Bake until slightly puffed and set in the center, 45 to 55 minutes.
Let cool about 10 minutes, then serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can prepare chocolate bread pudding in advance. Assemble the bread pudding and refrigerate it before baking. You can keep it in the fridge for several hours or overnight. When you’re ready to serve, bake it according to the recipe instructions. Just remember to give it a little extra time in the oven if you’re starting from cold.
Yes, it can also be frozen, after baking, for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, double-wrap it securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Before serving, reheat in a 300°F-oven until warmed through.
Challah is a great choice for bread pudding due to its rich, eggy texture and slightly sweet flavor. Other good options include brioche or a sturdy French bread.
Yes, the bourbon can be substituted based on preference. You can use another type of liquor like rum or brandy to add a different flavor profile. If you prefer not to use any alcohol, simply replace it with more milk or coffee.
You May Also Like
Chocolate Bread Pudding
Calling all chocolate lovers! Made from challah soaked in a rich chocolate custard, this dark chocolate bread pudding is pure comfort in every spoonful.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups (packed) 1-inch challah cubes (about 9 oz), from 1 loaf
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Instructions
- Chop the chocolate into ¼-inch chunks. Reserve ⅓ cup and set aside (you'll use this for sprinkling over the bread pudding before baking).
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the milk, sugar, and cocoa powder. Add the butter and bring to a boil. Off the heat, add the remaining chocolate, bourbon and cinnamon and whisk until smooth.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, and vanilla extract. Very gradually, pour the hot chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, whisking vigorously to combine (pour slowly, especially at the beginning, or the hot chocolate mixture will scramble the eggs). Add the bread cubes to the custard; cover and let soak in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the chocolate bread mixture to the prepared baking dish. Scatter the reserved chocolate over top, then use a spoon to push about half of the chocolate bits down into the pudding. Bake until slightly puffed and set in the center, about 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes, then serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The bread pudding can be assembled and refrigerated overnight before baking; just remember to give it a few extra minutes in the oven if starting from cold. It can also be frozen, after baking, for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, double-wrap it securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Before serving, reheat in a 300°F-oven until warmed through.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 381
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated fat: 8 g
- Carbohydrates: 53 g
- Sugar: 37 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Sodium: 258 mg
- Cholesterol: 127 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Hi Jen! I LOVE Chocolate bread pudding, and make it for my family often. Unfortunately, I have celiac disease and have yet to find brioche or challah bread that is gluten free. Do you have any suggestions for a suitable substitute?? I NEED bread pudding! lol
And – you are my go to for all things delicious!
Hi Lilli, I wish I had a good gluten-free alternative to suggest, but I’m at a loss – I’m sorry! Perhaps other readers can weigh in?
Mariposa Bakery makes Gluten Free Challah Bread that you can order online to be delivered to your home. I have also considered using a good Gluten Free French Bread baguette for this purpose. I have been Gluten Free since 2007.
Thank you for the recommendation! Made this last night for company and it turned out very good but I would also like to try it gluten free at some point for our gluten sensitive household.
If you halve the recipe, how long do you cook it for? I am making this for Christmas dinner!
Hi Melvina, I’m guessing about 40 minutes. Enjoy and happy holidays!
Made this delicious bread pudding this weekend when we had friends over for dinner. It was amazing! I was planning on omitting the cinnamon. So glad I added it! It was perfect with the cinnamon. I am not a fan of bourbon, but it was perfect in this recipe. Not “boozy” at all. I used brioche bread. I served it with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries on top. EVERYONE loved it! It reheats well in the oven the next day!
This was great and easy to make. The only minor issue I had was the bourbon. I used half the suggested amount (about 1/6th of a cup), and there was definitely a bourbon taste which the kids did not like (probably a good thing, however)! Next time, no bourbon for me but will definitely make it again!
Had a quick question. You said instead of bourbon, you can substitute with rum. Would Captain Morgan Spiced Rum be an okay option?
Sure- hope you enjoy!
I made this over the holiday. I really did not care for it, however, I may have used chocolate with too much cocoa. It was an expensive mistake and no one really ate it. I threw most of it away. I did print out another bread pudding from this website that I look forward to trying in the near future
So excited to try this but I am making this just for my family. Seems like it’s going to make too much for us. Would halving everything still turn out ok and just bake in a smaller pan?
Yes it makes a ton! You can definitely halve everything and bake in an 8-inch pan.
Love to make this but it sounds like a lot of bourbon, can I leave it out or substitute something non alcoholic
Hi Patti, It doesn’t really have a boozy taste in the end, but if you’d like to omit it you can substitute some strong coffee.
So many lovely recipes but why don’t you include ingredient quantities?
Looked at picture of chocolate bread pudding in an effort to establish what goes into it.
Hi Karen, It sounds like you are just looking at the portion of the page that has the pictures with some instructions underneath. If you scroll down a bit to under the pictures, you’ll find the full recipe. Alternatively, at the very top of the page, you can click the “recipe” button right under the recipe title. Hope that helps!
Living in a small town and deciding to make this for dessert at the last minute limited my choice of chocolate. We enjoyed it but the flavour would definitely be enhanced with a better quality chocolate. I served it with Hagen Daz vanilla ice cream for dessert with your beet and goat cheese salad and beef and potato stew to rave reviews.