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.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

It's finally November and Thanksgiving is approaching us!!  Halloween was yesterday and pumpkins are everywhere!  Even though it's over pumpkins are still here to stay for a while... I always love this time of year, pumpkin pie, squash of all varieties, pumpkin pancakes, and even pumpkin bread pudding! This recipe is a great brunch dessert, or make it on thanksgiving instead of pie.  I pretty much was experimenting when I made this recipe but I tested it out with my family and it was a huge success!!  Even my dad who claims he doesn't like pumpkin and cinnamon, enjoyed!  I think you will enjoy too!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

(serves 12)

1 loaf of challah, broken into large chunks

4 eggs

1 (15 oz.) can on pumpkin puree

2 cups non-dairy vanilla soy milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

(You can also use pumpkin pie spice)

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or good vanilla extract

Combine eggs, milk, pumpkin puree, vanilla, and spices in a bowl and whisk until combined.  Pour mixture over chunks of challah and let soak for a 2-8 hours.  

When you are ready to bake the bread pudding, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a rectangular baking sheet.  I used Pam non-stick spray.  If you would like to add chocolate chips (or non-dairy carob chips) you can add that into the challah mixture now, and mix to incorporate the chips.  About 1/2 cup.  Place pudding mixture into the baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 1 hour, until golden around the edges. Serve warm with spiced whipped cream (see recipe below).

Spiced Whipped Cream

1 cup non-dairy whipping cream (or regular whipping cream)

2 tablespoons confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Place all ingredients in a glass bowl.  Using a hand mixer, mix the cream until soft peaks form.  Place in the fridge until serving.

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!

Eggs and Cream: Part 1

I took home a leftover challah from work on Friday and was thinking what I could do with it. I opened up my fridge and saw that I had eggs, milk, and half and half. I also knew I had some vanilla beans in the pantry. I decided I'd make french toast for breakfast!

You'll see in the recipe below that I added splenda into my egg mixture. I like making the egg mixture sweet, not sure why but I do. If you add real sugar or maple syrup, you'll find that your french toast will have a nice caramelized crust. I ended up having leftover egg mixture and I did not let it go to waste. Stay tuned to see what I ended up using it for!!

Vanilla Bean French Toast

(serves 4 people, 3 slices each)

1 cup skim milk

1/2 cup fat free half and half

5 eggs

1/2 of a vanilla bean with seeds scraped out

1/2 cup sweetener (such as sugar, 6 packets splenda, maple syrup, honey)

12 slices of challah bread

Place first 3 ingredients in a large baking dish or bowl. Whisk together. Add vanilla bean scrapings and vanilla bean to the egg mixture, whisk again until well blended. Add sweetener of choice into the mixture and whisk.

Heat a large frying pan on medium heat. Spray non-stick cooking spray on the pan. Dip slices of challah into egg mixture and let sit 10-15 seconds on each side. Transfer wet challah slices into the pan to cook. Cook each side for about 3 minutes until golden brown. Repeat until all challah slices are dipped and cooked. ENJOY!