Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding

I'm visiting my friend from college up in Michigan....her whole family came over for sunday night dinner.  I had a challah leftover from Shabbat and thought to make a bread pudding with it.  I saw this recipe (see below for exact recipe) on Skinny Taste and thought I'd try it out!  It was so amazing!!! Everyone enjoyed it very much along with strawberries and cool whip!!  Gina's recipe serves 2, so I multiplied the recipe by 5 for a whole loaf of challah and it can serve about 10-12 people!

Dark Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 2 • Size: 1 pudding • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 7 pts
Calories: 277.1 • Fat: 11.1 g • Carb: 34.7 g • Fiber: 2.8 g  • Protein: 9.6 g

• 1-3/4 cups (1.25 oz) challah bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (no crust)
• 2/3 cup 1% reduced-fat milk
• 2  tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• cooking spray
• 1 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (Green & Black's 70% dark)
• 2  tbsp fat-free whipped topping

Preheat oven to 350°.

Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until toasted. Remove bread from oven; decrease oven temperature to 325°.

Combine milk and next 5 ingredients (milk through egg) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add bread, tossing gently to coat. Cover and chill 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Divide half of bread mixture evenly between 2 (6-ounce) ramekins coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with half of chocolate. Divide remaining bread mixture between ramekins; top with remaining chocolate.

Place ramekins in an 8-inch square baking pan; add 1 inch of hot water to pan. Bakeat 325° for 35 minutes or until set. Serve warm with 1 tablespoon whipped topping.

Eggs and Cream: Part 2

Remember when I made my french toast and had some leftover egg and cream mixture??? Well I used the extra stuff to make an individual bread pudding. I filled a ramekin up with small pieces of challah, which was also leftover, and sprinkled some mini chocolate chips that I had in the freezer throughout. I poured the egg mixture over the challah and let it soak up overnight.

Now it's morning and I'm super excited to see if this actually will taste like chocolate chip bread pudding! Before baking the bread pudding sprinkle some sugar on the top. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the bread pudding for about 30-45 minutes until the top is golden brown.

I probably will want to pour some syrup over my bread pudding before digging my fork into it so that it's more on the sweet side! I suggest if you want to make a large bread pudding you can follow the recipe below that I got from Epicurious and adapted it to my liking.

French Toast Bread Pudding

• 12 ounces challah or other egg bread with crust, torn into 3/4-inch pieces
• 7 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean split down the center with seeds scraped out
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated whole nutmeg

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• Warm maple syrup (for serving)

Butter 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Place bread in dish. Whisk eggs and next 6 ingredients in medium bowl to blend; pour over bread. Using spatula, lightly press down on bread to moisten completely. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of bread. Cover with foil and chill overnight.

Place foil-covered dish in cold oven. Set oven at 350°F and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until pudding is puffed and golden brown, about 35 minutes longer.

Spoon pudding onto plates, sprinkle with toasted nuts, and serve with warm maple syrup. Enjoy!