Chocolate Panettone Pudding

I have been busy baking. As I said the other day, I am trying to use up many of the leftover items that I had from Christmas. As I had an abundance of chocolate morsels, and a panettone, I decided to find a recipe for bread pudding. Do you know panettone? It is a tall, cylindrical sweet bread made during the holidays, originally from Milan and it contains candied fruits, such as orange, citron, lemon, and raisins. This bread is delicious on its own but I had an extra and did not want it to go to waste.

I know that there are many recipes out there for bread pudding and if you have a favorite then by all means use that one. If you are not a bread pudding fan, I think this may convert you and if you love chocolate I promise you will love this dessert.

 After perusing a few of my favorite cookbooks, and the Internet I settled on a recipe from Paula Dean and then I adapted it to suit my taste. The original recipe can be found here. I think it is easy, and delicious, and it fit the bill.

Ingredients

• 1-pound Panettone, cut into small cubes
• 3 cups milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup Baileys Irish Cream
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 6 eggs lightly beaten
• 8 oz 60% Chocolate morsels
• 4 oz semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Place the cubed  bread in the baking dish.

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, and liqueur.

In another bowl, combine the granulated and brown sugars with the cocoa powder and mix well. Add this to the milk mixture and whisk to combine.

Add the vanilla to the beaten eggs. Combine the egg mixture with the milk mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread cubes; let stand, stirring occasionally, for at least 20 minutes, or until the bread has absorbed most of the milk mixture. Bake the pudding for 1 hour, or until set; a knife inserted into the center of the pudding should come out clean. Serving the pudding warm, or refrigerate it and serve chilled. Serve with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or drizzled with heavy cream.

This chocolate panettone pudding is fabulous! It is light, creamy, and chocolaty, with a nugget of candied  fruit every once in awhile. The raisins, citrus or the orange pieces in the panettone add an extra but light flavor to the dish;  as there are not to many of them in the bread they do not overpower the chocolate. If you like chocolate covered fruit then you will enjoy having these little nuggets in the pudding. Although it is delicious straight from the oven, the flavors meld and the following day it is even more delicious. My family likes to eat it with heavy cream drizzled over the top or served with vanilla ice cream.

I hope you enjoy your day, and if you should try this recipe do let me know what you think? Or if you have one of your own I would love to try it.