This Chocolate Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce transforms stale bread into a heavenly chocolatey dessert. Day-old bread soaks up the rich chocolate custard as it bakes in the oven and develops a crispy top. Then, it’s topped with a homemade bourbon sauce with coconut and pecans giving this dessert a restaurant-quality feel.
Chocolate Bread Pudding with Day-Old Bread
Day old bread and chocolate chips form the base for a custardy bread pudding that’s rich and chocolatey and fabulous with just a dollop of whipped cream. However, add a bourbon laced German chocolate glaze with pecans and coconut, and you have an over-the-top dessert.
No one will believe you made something this fabulous with just a few ingredients and 30 minutes of prep. Not as gooey as a chocolate cobbler which makes a bourbon sauce the perfect accompaniment.
Chocolate Bread Pudding is the ultimate combination of fudgy brownies and bread pudding. It’s got that chocolatey taste of a brownie with the soft texture of bread pudding without being mushy.
The bread in the pudding will not be mushy as long as you use dry bread. When the custard is poured over the stale bread it will absorb the custard, where soft bread will not. It’s then baked in a springform pan, which makes it easier to cut into elegant slices.
The finishing touch is the bourbon sauce. Since the pudding itself is not very sweet, a sweeter sauce adds just the right amount of sweetness. Just like with a German chocolate cake, this type of sauce goes great with chocolate. It tastes similar to a German chocolate cake frosting but it’s a little thinner so that it can be poured over the bread pudding.
To make the sauce, you’ll combine butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, toasted pecans, toasted coconut, an egg yolk, salt, and bourbon. Pour the sauce over the top of the pudding for a decadent finish. You can even scoop a bit of vanilla ice cream or add whipped cream on top for extra indulgence.
Why You Should Try This Recipe
- Perfect for chocolate lovers: This dessert is loaded with rich chocolate flavor that chocolate lovers will adore.
- Make-ahead friendly: You can bake the pudding and store it in the fridge a couple of days before reheating it in the oven
- Unique: The contrast of chocolate and bourbon sauce creates a deliciously unique dessert that everyone will love.
What You Need to Make This Chocolate Bread Pudding Recipe
- Pantry staples: You’ll need brown sugar, unsalted butter, large eggs, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips: This is where the chocolate flavor comes from.
- Whole milk: I used whole milk, but you could use cream or half-and-half. However, the chocolate overpowers the custard, so you won’t notice if you use regular milk instead.
- Espresso powder: Intensifies the chocolate flavor.
- Stale white bread: Stale bread soaks up the custard mixture without becoming soggy. If it’s not dry, cut it into cubes and bake it at a low temperature until it’s dried out.
Sauce Ingredients
- Pantry staples: You’ll need unsalted butter, brown sugar, and one egg yolk.
- Heavy cream: Adds richness and a velvety texture to the sauce.
- Toasted pecans: Adds a toasty, nutty flavor.
- Toasted sweetened coconut: Gives the sauce a German chocolate-like texture and flavor.
- Bourbon or vanilla: Bourbon adds a depth of caramel and vanilla flavor. You can use vanilla extract instead if you’re not a bourbon fan.
It’s Very Simple to Make
Step One: Prep the Bread
If your bread isn’t stale, dry it out in the oven. Once ready, toss the bread cubes into a large bowl and set aside.
Step Two: Make the Chocolate Mixture
Melt butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan, then stir in the chocolate chips until smooth. Let it cool slightly.
Step Three: Combine the Wet Ingredients
Whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, espresso powder, and salt. Pour this over the bread cubes and gently mix, allowing the bread mixture to soak up all the liquid but still hold some shape. Your hands work best for this.
Step Four: Mix It All Together
Fold the melted chocolate mixture into the soaked bread, combining gently to keep some texture. Transfer everything to a buttered springform pan. You can also bake this in a baking dish and just spoon out the servings.
Step Five: Bake the Pudding
Bake until the bread pudding is set and springs back when lightly touched. Let it cool about 30 minutes before slicing. It can be served warm or room temperature.
Step Six: Make the Sauce
While the pudding bakes, cook butter and brown sugar in a saucepan, then stir in cream, an egg yolk, and salt. Boil briefly until slightly thickened, then add toasted pecans, coconut, and bourbon or vanilla.
Step Seven: Serve and Enjoy
Drizzle the sauce over the bread pudding slices and enjoy every rich, chocolatey bite.
Tips and Tricks
- Bread: It’s important that the bread is dry or stale. Let it bake in the oven for a few minutes at 200ºF once it’s cut into cubes if the bread is not dry. Otherwise, the liquid will not absorb into the bread, and it will be mushy.
- Serve Warm: This dessert is best warm with the topping spooned over each slice. If reheating, a quick warm-up in the microwave or oven will revive its gooey, decadent texture.
- Doneness: Don’t over bake the pudding, look for a slightly jiggly center with firm edges.
- Slice: Don’t slice the pudding until it has slightly cooled, about 30 minutes. If you want to serve it sooner, it will be a little gooey but still fabulous.
Make It Your Own
- Bread: You can swap the white bread for challah bread or brioche for a slightly richer flavor. Just make sure to dry it our first.
- Chocolate: Make dark chocolate bread pudding with dark chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet.
- Sauce: You can leave the sauce off and make a rich chocolate ganache instead, or eat the pudding as is with just a scoop of whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream.
Storing and Make-Ahead Options
Store bread pudding in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Just make sure to thaw it in the fridge before reheating.
Reheat a slice in the microwave for 15-30 seconds or until warm. You can reheat the entire pudding in the oven covered in foil at 350ºF for 10 minutes.
Don’t Forget!
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Ingredients
- 2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 12 ounces
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoons espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 lb stale white bread cut into 1 inch cubes
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 egg yolk
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup pecans chopped and toasted
- ¼ cup sweetened coconut toasted
- 1 tablespoon bourbon/vanilla
Instructions
- If the bread is not stale, place the cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 200º until they are dry. Once cooled, add to a large mixing bowl.
- Preheat oven to 350º. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan.
- In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat. Add chocolate chips and whisk until melted. Set aside
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla, espresso powder and salt. Pour over the dry bread and use your hands to toss the bread with the liquid. It will take a minute or so for the liquid to absorb into the bread. The bread will start to lose its shape but there will still be some intact cubes of bread.
- Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the soggy bread and transfer to the prepared pan.
- Bake for 1 hour until the center springs back when lightly touched. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes then remove the outside of the pan. Allow to cool an additional 15 minutes or longer before slicing.
Topping:
- While the bread pudding is baking, melt butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add cream, egg yolk and salt and bring to a boil whisking the entire time. Continue to boil for about 2 minutes until it starts to thicken, it will still be very runny.
- Remove from the heat and add toasted pecans and coconut and bourbon to taste. Let it cool. Spoon over individual servings of bread pudding.
Notes
- Using very dry bread will keep the bread from becoming mushy.
- It’s best to use your hands to combine the bread and custard. Using a spoon breaks the bread into crumbs.
