Nature’s Pride – Chocolate Bread Pudding

 In a month, I will be attending my first Foodbuzz Festival. It is the 2nd annual Foodbuzz Blogger Festival where food bloggers will enjoy a weekend filled with delicious food and company of other food enthusiasts.

Nature’s Pride bread is one of the official sponsors of the Foodbuzz Festival. They host an annual Bread Ambassador recipe contest where food bloggers are invited to create recipes using Nature’s Pride bread.  I am late in the game so I didn’t receive any coupons to purchase the bread but I did spend a whopping $2.50 of  my own money at Ralph’s to purchase the bread 🙂

I purchased Nutty Oat bread.  I love bread to have texture in them so out of all the different kinds they had at the store, this is what caught my eye because it’s nutty.

I had a sandwich last night to test out the bread and I liked it. It tasted fresh and chewy and I can definitely taste the nuts in the bread.

“You won’t believe it. Without a single nut, this hearty bread boasts a delicious, nutty flavor and texture, too. Thanks to its abundance of good-for-you whole grains, sunflower seeds and more, this robust bread creates a wholesome and rich addition to your Nature’s Pride family”

This bread is packed with healthy ingredients. Check it out.

For my entry, I wanted to create something new (new for me), something that I’ve never made before but have always enjoyed.

I love bread pudding but haven’t found a recipe that wasn’t too heavy on buttermilk, heavy cream and sugar. I want more of a creamy chocolate bread pudding that is not too sweet.

Creamy Chocolate Bread Pudding

Ingredients

(Recipe adapted from here)

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons butter  (I used Earth Balance vegan butter)
• 10 slices Nature’s Pride Nutty Oat bread, crusts removed
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 1/2 cups coconut milk (makes pudding creamier)
• 3 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup maple sugar
• 2 teaspoon instant coffee
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Toppings: Chocolate Chunks, toasted walnuts

I used coconut milk to add creaminess to the pudding and used less sugar. I also added instant coffee to bring out the chocolate flavor.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Heat oil and butter over low heat in a small saucepan just until butter melts. Brush both sides of the bread slices with butter mixture and place on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes per side.
3. Overlap toasted bread slices in an ungreased 9 inch baking dish. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
4. Whisk cocoa and salt in a medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in coconut milk. Bring to a bare simmer over low heat. Remove from heat, add chocolate and whisk until it melts.
5. Whisk eggs, maple sugar, instant coffee and vanilla in a medium bowl until blended. Gradually whisk hot chocolate mixture into egg mixture. Pour custard over bread in baking dish. Let stand for 20 minutes. Add toasted walnuts and additional chocolate chips on top of the custard.
6. Meanwhile, boil water for the water bath.
7. Set baking dish in a roasting pan and place in the oven. Add boiling water to the roasting pan to reach halfway up sides of baking dish. Bake pudding until just set, 20 to 25 minutes. The middle will be slightly runny on top and jiggly.  Remove baking dish from roasting pan and cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes.

Served with coconut flakes.

I made a mini version of the pudding in a small ramekin. Testing out single servings for when I host a party 🙂

Creamy chocolate + nutty soft buttery bread = Chocolate heaven in your mouth.

A huge chunk for me 🙂

Best chocolate for baking if you like intense chocolate flavor.

Into the oven for toasting.

Chocolate mess in my kitchen.

All worth it for the finished product.