DEBBIE'S DEATH BY CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING

Debbie's Death By Chocolate Bread Pudding image

Holy decadence! This bread pudding is going to put you into a chocolate coma... and worth every bite. It's a rich and decadent bread pudding filled with chocolate and pecans. The bread pudding has a firm but creamy texture and the pecans add a nice crunch. Alone, it's delicious. But add the simple chocolate sauce and this is out...

Provided by Debbie Thurmond

Time 1h30m

Number Of Ingredients 15

Ingredients

DARK CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING
1 loaf French or Italian bread
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla
2 c sugar
1 stick butter, melted
4 c half and half or heavy whipping cream
1 c chopped pecans
1 c slightly sweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips
CHOCOLATE SAUCE
1 pkg slightly sweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips, 12 oz.
1 stick butter
1 - 1 1/4 c half and half or heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
strawberries, dipped in the chocolate for garnish

Steps:

1. Tear your loaf of bread into small chunks. When I make bread pudding, I prefer to allow my bread to sit for several hours or overnight to "stale." I tear the bread in pieces into a large bowl and cover it with a dishtowel until I am ready to mix it all together.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F.
3. In a medium-size bowl, mix slightly beaten eggs, sugar, half and half (or cream), and vanilla. Beat on medium until well blended.
4. Melt the butter in the microwave and slowly blend into the sugar mixture.
5. Pour this mixture over the bread pieces. Stir gently to coat all the bread pieces evenly.
6. Gently fold the chocolate chips and the pecans evenly into the bread mixture.
7. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes to absorb the liquid.
8. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.
9. Bake 45-50 minutes or until lightly brown but not overdone.
10. Allow to cool a bit while you prepare the chocolate sauce. Do not prepare the chocolate sauce until the bread pudding is ready to come out. it will get too hard.
11. For the chocolate sauce, in a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and the butter.
12. Check and stir every 30 seconds or so. Add vanilla extract.
13. Once melted and stirred smooth, add your half and half (or cream) about 1/4 cup at a time stirring well.
14. Microwave another 30 seconds each time until you get it to the consistency that you want it to be to allow you to drizzle it. You may need up to 1 cup of half and half (or cream).
15. At this point, for each person I was serving, I dipped a strawberry in the chocolate mixture and set them on waxed paper to dry.
16. I dished everyone's bread pudding up, added the chocolate sauce and then garnished with a chocolate covered strawberry. THIS WAS A HIT!!!