Brioche Bread Pudding with Dark Chocolate and Red Fruit

Hey guys, just in time for Easter! This brioche bread pudding studded with dark chocolate and swirled with red berry jam is perfect for a lazy Easter brunch – or any lazy breakfast or brunch, really – and super easy to make. You just throw stuff together, bake it in the oven, and that’s it. No, it isn’t the prettiest dish. But it sure tastes good! Besides, throw-together dishes like these don’t need to look good, right? They just have to be convenient and delicious. Which this bread pudding is!

To tell you the truth, the Rocking Rebel thought I’d burned the whole thing. Apparently, he didn’t realize I added chocolate to the bread pudding batter, so when he glimpsed it in passing he immediately jumped to the conclusion that I’d burned it. Hmmm… I’m not so sure what made him think that, because I don’t think I’m particularly prone to burning things. Stepping into cheesecakes, though, now that’s another story, but I’m usually pretty good at remembering when to pull something out of the oven 😉

And as you can see, I certainly remembered to pull this rustic looking bread pudding out of the oven in time!

To make this brioche bread pudding, you’ll need stale brioche bread.Or fresh brioche bread which you’ve cut into squares and allowed to go stale on the counter for a few hours. Anyway, you’re going to need brioche. Surprise, surprise. Oh wait, Challah is fine, too! Besides brioche or challah, you need sugar, milk, vanilla extract, eggs, chocolate and jam. 

Start by whisking the eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla together in a bowl and adding the bread cubes to it. Stir it around to soak the bread in the egg mixture, then walk away and go put your feet up for 15 minutes. You’ve earned it! 

Pour the eggy bread in a buttered oven dish, add the chocolate and a few tablespoons of the jam and bake for about 50 minutes until golden brown and a knife inserted into the center of the pudding comes out clean. Or chocolatey. Or jam-y. Is that even a word?

The pudding will rise in the oven and sink back down as it cools. 

Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold. I love it slightly warm, served with a big cup of tea and a side of more bread pudding. Or whipped cream. Or chocolate sauce. 

I wish you all a fabulous Easter! I’m off to feed my baby 🙂

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Brioche Bread Pudding with Dark Chocolate and Red Fruit

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

 

Serves 6-8.

Author: The Tough Cookie

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs (about 165g, or ½ cup + 1 tablespoon)
• 65g (or ⅓ cup) granulated sugar
• 360ml (or 1½ cup) milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 170g (6 ounces, or about 4 cups) stale brioche bread, cut into 2,5-cm/1-inch cubes
• 70g (or 2.5 ounces) semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 65g (or 3 tablespoons) summer berry jam, or any jam you like
• unsalted butter to grease the pan

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F(standard oven setting) and lightly butter a oven dish.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Add milk and vanilla and whisk to combine. Measure 5 tablespoons of the milk mixture and discard or use to make French toast. Proceed with the remaining milk mixture.
3. Add the brioche cubes to the milk mixture and stir with a spoon to combine. Set aside for 15 minutes to allow the brioche to soak up the milk mixture, stirring occasionally.
4. Add most of the chopped chocolate (reserving some to sprinkle over the top) to the brioche mixture and stir again to combine. Transfer the mixture to the buttered oven dish. Using two teaspoons, divide the jam over the top of the mixture, then sprinkle over the reserved chocolate.
5. Place on an oven rack in the middle of the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the bread pudding comes out clean. The bread pudding will puff up as it bakes, but will sink back down again as it cools.
6. Once done, remove from the oven. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or even cold. I love it cold with my morning tea!

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