About the Recipe
A decadent chocolate bread pudding is a rich, warm, and comforting dessert featuring bread cubes - often an enriched variety like brioche or challah - soaked in a luxurious dark chocolate custard made with heavy cream, eggs, and a generous amount of bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder. The interior is soft, creamy, and possesses a melt-in-your-mouth texture, interspersed with pockets of molten chocolate.
This deep, rich, and slightly sweet pudding is elegantly contrasted by a vibrant, tangy passion fruit sauce. The sauce provides a bright, acidic, and tropical counterpoint to the dessert's intensity, cutting through the richness of the chocolate with its sharp, fruity flavor profile. The unexpected pairing of the sweet, dense chocolate and the zesty, bright passion fruit creates a dynamic and sophisticated culinary experience, balancing richness with refreshing tropical notes. The dish is typically served warm, allowing the aromas of vanilla, chocolate, and passion fruit to meld beautifully.
Ingredients
2 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 cup passion fruit juice
6 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon salt
1 pound gluten free challah (egg bread), cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together cream, milk, passion fruit juice, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and salt until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Stir in the challah bread and let it sit, gently pressing on the bread occasionally, until the custard has mostly absorbed the bread, approximately 10 minutes.
Gently fold in chocolate chips.
Transfer the challah mixture to the prepared pan and spread it evenly.
Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the top of the bread pudding.
Transfer the bread pudding to a baking sheet and place it in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until the pudding is puffed and golden brown, approximately 1 hour.
Allow the bread pudding to cool for at least 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
Serve the bread pudding slightly warm or at room temperature.
Cover the bread pudding and cook until the center is set, approximately 3 to 4 hours on the lowest temperature setting of your oven.
Allow the bread pudding to cool, covered, for 30 minutes.
Serve
Spoon a generous amount of the warm chocolate bread pudding into bowls and drizzle generously with the chilled passion fruit sauce. Serve immediately.
Notes