Chocolate Orange Bread Pudding

*This Chocolate Orange Bread Pudding is rich, creamy, and perfectly decadent. The sweet, citrusy, and just slightly bitter combination of dark chocolate and orange makes this dish ideal for a cold winter morning.*

Happy day-before-Christmas-Eve! I’m definitely feeling the holiday spirit in the air, are you?! I’m so excited to have some time off from work to relax and hang out with the fam-bam. We’re all cuddled up at our house in the country with a blaring fire, plenty of yummy food, and no plans to do anything too strenuous anytime soon. I hope you have some nice holiday plans in the works, too!

Growing up, we had certain Christmas traditions we always followed. Lots of cookie baking in the week leading up to the holiday, of course. And we were always allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve. The next morning, however, is what sticks in my mind, with the sweet and cozy little routine that kicked off the big day. My brother and I would race to wake up, then cuddle in our parents’ bed in our pajamas to open stockings. Eventually, as we revelled in our new toys, my mom would head into the kitchen to cook up a delicious breakfast feast. Sausages, fruit salad, yogurt, and always, a fabulous bread pudding.

Fewer things are more delicious – for breakfast or dessert – than a perfectly crafted bread pudding. Lucky for us, in this case, perfect is actually quite simple, too! My mom would always deck out her Christmas pudding with dark chocolate and orange. These two flavors together – sweet, tart, citrusy, melty, and just slightly bitter – were perfect for a cold winter morning, and perfectly decadent for the holiday. This creamy, rich, and custardy treat relies on little more than slightly stale bread, a few eggs, and a generous pour of heavy cream. Add in a splash of bourbon and I’m perpetually obsessed. So, if you’re looking for an easy dish worthy of a special brunch event (or any brunch event, really) – let’s do as mom did, and whip up this chocolate orange bread pudding!

Chocolate Orange Bread Pudding

Servings: 8
Difficulty: Easy
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This Chocolate Orange Bread Pudding is rich, creamy, and perfectly decadent. The sweet, citrusy, and just slightly bitter combination of dark chocolate and orange makes this dish ideal for a cold winter morning.

The bourbon is optional, but recommended. 😉
After assembling the pudding, you may cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to twenty four hours. Simply remove from the fridge at least thirty minutes before baking so it can come to room temperature.

Ingredients

1 loaf brioche or white bread
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
4 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
¼ cup bourbon
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 orange

Directions

Butter a large glass baking dish.
Slice bread into one inch thick cubes. Transfer to prepared dish.
Sprinkle chocolate chips over bread.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, milk, bourbon, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt.
Zest orange, then half and juice it. Add zest and juice to egg mixture and whisk to combine.
Pour egg mixture over bread chunks. Using a fork, push down slightly on bread to make sure each chunk is submerged in the liquid.
Set aside pudding to allow bread to soak up some of the liquid, for at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Bake pudding, uncovered, until golden brown and still slightly moist in the center, about forty five minutes.

The Millennial Cook