Name: Chocolate Bread Pudding
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 8 slice brown bread; 300 ml Arla Lactofree skimmed milk; 1 egg; 1 tbsp vanilla extract; 4 tbsp honey; 50 g vegan dark chocolate; 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon

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* This is a sponsored post for Arla *
We took a classic bread pudding and put a lighter spin on it by sweetening it with just a little honey, using brown seeded bread and then we added some dark chocolate chunks. Because, why not! This Chocolate Bread Pudding is total comfort food and great if you can't have lactose as we used Arla Lactofree to celebrate it now being stocked in Costa Coffee shops.

Bread pudding is one of those classic school desserts that always brings back happy memories of eating it in the canteen full of hundreds of rowdy and sugar high kids. Nowadays, it is one of our favourite ways to reduce food waste as the bulk of the dish is bread. Got some bread that has gone a bit stale? It's screaming to be turned in to a chocolate bread pudding.

What Is Bread Pudding?

Bread pudding is basically the combination of torn up leftover bread, milk, eggs and a sweetener. All soaked up together and then baked in the oven until gooey and crispy. Kind of like a sweet casserole. But there is so much more you can do with it and lots of ways to customise it.

What does it taste like? It's kind of got the gooeyness of brownies, but the flavour of French toast and it's pretty dense. Then it takes on the flavour of whatever else you have added in to it.

It's a classic British dessert and in the 13th century is was known as a poor man's pudding, because of the basic ingredients that it uses. Basic doesn't have to be boring and if you want comforting dessert that the whole family will love, then this is it. We have also made it using Arla Lactofree Milk, so everyone can enjoy a big spoonful of this.

Arla Lactofree

I have quite a few friends that are lactose free, and they always rave about Arla Lactofree Milk. Not only because of the taste, quality and value, but because it is so readily available too. So, when I have them over for dinner I make sure to use it in the dessert I make or the sauce to go with dinner.

Arla Lactofree has all the nutritional benefits and taste of standard milk, just without the lactose. It is made from all natural ingredients - they simply filter milk and break down 100% of the lactose so everyone can enjoy some simple, nutritious goodness. Available in skimmed, semi skimmed, whole and chocolate.

Arla and Costa Coffee

Great news for people who are lactose intolerant - Arla Lactofree is now available in Costa Coffee shops. Wooo hooo! I remember when the only "alternative" milk available in a coffee shop used to be soya milk - so it's great that there are so many alternatives now.

You can now enjoy all of your favourite Costa drinks with Arla Lactofree Milk. We head to our local Costa once a week (as it's in our nearest supermarket) to do some work planning and we have been trying it in a few different drinks. You honestly can't taste the difference, which is great news from lactose intolerant people. So, to celebrate the milk being available in Costa, we made this bread pudding recipe that uses it.

What Bread To Use

The great thing about this is you can use pretty much any bread - which is why it's so good for using up stale bread. We had some wholemeal seeded bread that needed using, so we tore that up to mix in. You can use regular white bread or you can even use croissants if you want to make it a little more indulgent.

What Else Can You Add To Bread Pudding?

We have made this so many times over the year and I don't think we have made it the same way twice. Use this as a base recipe and then go crazy with the add-ons. You can mix in some chopped nuts (we like pecans) and dried fruit (cranberries or cherries go well with the chocolate).

If you want a flavoured bread pudding, then orange or mint go well with chocolate. You can use orange or mint extract or swap a little of the milk for some orange juice and then grate some fresh orange zest on top when you sprinkle the chocolate.

You can serve it as it is, but if you want to make it more of an indulgent dessert, then serve it with some ice cream or frozen yogurt. A little drizzle of caramel sauce is a good addition too.

Can This Be Made in Advance?

Yes, and there is some preparation that goes in to this dish that would suit it being made in advance. Once you have added the liquid to the bread, it then needs to go in the fridge for at least an hour so that the bread can soak everything up. But, you could leave it in the fridge for 4-5 hours and then put it in the oven 40 minutes before you are ready to eat it.

Can You Reheat Bread Pudding?

This will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days and then you can either eat it cold, at room temperature or heat it up in the oven. I do find that the texture changes when it reheats, so it's best eaten straight after cooking - you can always change the portion sizes if needed.

How To Make Chocolate Bread Pudding - Step by Step:

One: Tear the bread and put it in to a baking dish.

Two: In a bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, honey, vanilla and cinnamon.

Three: Pour the milk mixture over the bread and make sure everything is covered. Put in the fridge for at least an hour.

Four: Take out of the fridge and sprinkle the chocolate chunks on top.

Five: Put in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 40 minutes.

Other Dessert Recipes To Try:

Healthy Chocolate Mug Cake
Slow Cooker Chocolate Fudge
Mixed Berry Crisp
Apple Hand Pies
Bakewell Pudding
Healthy Apple Pie
Oaty Apple Crumble

Some extra tips for this Bread Pudding Recipe:

Stale bread is best to use, so this is a great recipe to reduce food waste.
You can add so many different things to this dessert. Nuts and dried fruit work well.
Want a flavoured bread pudding? Swap the vanilla extract for an orange or mint extract.
Leftovers will keep in the fridge for about 3 days.

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