Honestly YUM

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

Decadent but simple croissant chocolate bread pudding is spiced with cinnamon and vanilla. The absolute best part of this dessert is the buttery and super-crunchy chocolate tops of the croissants after the pudding is baked!

CourseDessert
SeasonFall, Spring, Summer, Winter
MealDinner
dietary restrictionVegetarian
Difficulty LevelModerate

Ingredients

6-8 large croissantsday old
2 eggs
4 egg yolks
1 1/4cup sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 1/2cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1teaspoon salt
1/2cup unsweetened cocoa powder
8ounces bittersweet chocolateroughly chopped
1tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2tablespoons butter
creme fraichefor topping
powdered sugarfor topping

Instructions

Whisk the eggs and egg yolks together in a large Pyrex mixing bowl. In a saucepan, whisk the cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, milk and cream over medium heat until the cocoa is fully incorporated and the milk just starts to bubble around the edges. Add the bittersweet chocolate, sugar and vanilla and whisk until melted.
Slowly add a bit of the hot chocolate-milk mixture to the eggs while whisking the eggs to prevent them from turning into scrambled eggs. As the chocolate gets incorporated into the eggs add more of the chocolate-milk mixture until fully incorporated.
Butter a 9 x 13 inch Pyrex baking dish. Slice the croissants in half lengthwise and place the bottom half of the croissants in the dish. Cut the croissants as necessary to cover the entire bottom of the dish with the bottoms of the croissants. Pour half of the chocolate custard mixture over the croissants. Place the tops of the croissants and pour the rest of the chocolate custard mixture over the tops of the croissants. Let the dish rest for at least 30 minutes to soak in the chocolate, occasionally pressing the croissants down with a spatula so it soaks in more chocolate.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and bake for about 45-50 minutes or until the pudding is just set in the center. Test this by gently shaking the baking dish and the center should just barely jiggle.
Allow the pudding to cool and dust the tops with powdered sugar through sieve. Serve a large scoop of the pudding with a small dollop of tangy creme fraiche or fresh whipped cream.