This chocolate croissant bread pudding is an easy to make, decadent, dessert that can be put together, baked and served within the hour. Make it tonight!
Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding
This indulgent recipe is exactly what you expect in a bread pudding, with lots of melty chocolate inside to put this dessert over the top. It’s so easy to make, there’s no excuse to not whip one up today.
If brunch is more your thing, this is the perfect sweet addition to add to a savory spread of eggs, bacon and a celebration prosecco drink.
Maybe you’ve only experienced this dessert made of warm, custard-soaked bread at fancy restaurants, but bread pudding is something that needs to be made more often at home. Deconstructed, it’s basically elevated French toast, with all the soft middles and crunchy edges in one fabulous, crowd-pleasing dish.
Ingredients for Croissant Bread Pudding with Chocolate
Bread pudding is at the very least a form of baked custard. You take a sweetened mixture of eggs and milk and pour it over staled/toasted bread in a baking dish. These two parts are baked together until the bread becomes pudding-like — lush and creamy — and the top is golden brown and tender crisp.
butter – salted or unsalted is fine
egg yolks only – from large sized eggs, save the whites for breakfast
whole milk – this is not the time to use skim milk
heavy cream – do not substitute
granulated sugar – white table sugar
pure vanilla extract
kosher salt
ground nutmeg – you can grate your own if you prefer
croissants – these are already baked croissants your are cutting into bite-sized pieces
bittersweet/dark chocolate – 70% cacao is the best for this recipe
GET THE FULL (PRINTABLE) RECIPE FOR CHOCLATE CHUNK CROISSANT BREAD PUDDING BELOW. ENJOY!
Recipe Tips
- Toast the bread cubes first. Whether your croissants are a couple days old or fresh, I still like to toast the cubes for a few minutes in the oven to make sure they’re completely dried out. While it seems counter-intuitive to dry out the croissant cubes when mixing them with milk and eggs is the next step, but drying them makes them better able to absorb the custard and gives the pudding a better texture.
- Bake until creamy but custard is set. Unlike other breads, a tester toothpick inserted into the middle of bread pudding might still appear wet even when the custard is set. You’ll want to look for a golden-brown top and a center that is jiggly, but doesn’t wiggle, and make sure an instant-read thermometer reads at least 160°F.
- For the ultimate chocolate decadence, feel free to use chocolate croissants instead of plain.
How To Toast Croissant Cubes
- Arrange two racks to divide the oven into thirds and heat to 350°F.
- Slice the croissants into bite-sized cubes.
- Divide the bread among two rimmed baking sheets and spread into an even layer. Toast, stirring halfway through, until the cubes feel dry and hard, but are still very pale, 15 to 20 minutes total. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
More Must Make Chocolate Desserts
Next time your social calendar requires you to whip out a to-die-for chocolate dessert, remember the list below for some rich chocolatey concoction ideas. From Root Beer Cake Cake to Brownie Muffins, these desserts are rich, decadent, and can be enjoyed year-round.
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups
- Brownie Muffins
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Bars
- Root Beer Cake
- Chocolate and Peanut Butter Brownies
- Ooey Gooey Brownies
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Chocolate Chunk Croissant Bread Pudding + VIDEO
Ingredients
- butter for the baking dish
- 6 large egg yolks
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 6 croissants (1 lb) cut into 1" pieces (it's okay if they are day old), toasted in the oven until they feel dry and hard, but are still very pale looking
- 4 oz bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao) chopped into chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Butter an 8-inch square or other shallow 2-quart baking dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, salt and nutmeg. Add toasted croissant pieces and chocolate. Mix to combine.
- Transfer croissant mixture to the prepared baking dish and bake until a tester knife or inserted in the middle comes out clean, 40-50 minutes. Or make sure an instant-read thermometer reads at least 160°F and the top is golden brown.
- Serve warm or room temperature.
Nutrition
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