Mom's Chocolate Bread Pudding

This is bread pudding the way someone’s mom actually made it: bittersweet, deeply chocolatey, set like a baked custard, and rich enough that one square is enough. Unsweetened chocolate gets melted slowly into half-and-half, then poured over soft white bread crumbs and left to soak for an hour, which is how the bread breaks down into something almost imperceptible in the finished pudding.

Eggs and a full cup of sugar go in last, sweetening up the bittersweet chocolate base and giving the whole thing the structure to set into a sliceable custard. The water bath keeps the edges from overcooking before the center finishes, the same trick used for cheesecake or crème caramel.

Serve warm with a generous dollop of whipped cream. The contrast of cold cream against the warm chocolate pudding is the whole point.

Pro Tips

• Use unsweetened (baking) chocolate, not semi-sweet chips. Substituting changes the sugar balance and the depth of chocolate flavor.
• Don’t skip the hour-long soak. The bread crumbs need time to fully break down and merge into the chocolate cream.
• Test doneness with a toothpick like the recipe says. The pudding should jiggle slightly in the center when pulled from the oven; it firms up as it cools.
• Use soft, fresh white bread crumbs torn by hand, not dried packaged crumbs. Dried crumbs absorb too much liquid and make the pudding gritty.
• Top with whipped cream just before serving. It melts on the warm pudding into a silky sauce.

Variations

• Stir in 2 tablespoons of bourbon or dark rum with the eggs for an adult version.
• Add 1 teaspoon of espresso powder to the chocolate as it melts to deepen the chocolate flavor.
• Sprinkle chopped toasted hazelnuts or pecans over the top before baking for crunch.