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This Gooey Chocolate Peppermint Bread Pudding recipe might be the most sinfully delicious dessert I’ve ever had! It’s perfect for holiday entertaining.

The Best Bread Pudding

Not even kidding this chocolate peppermint dessert has got all of my favorite components….chocolate, bread and icing. Haha. It turns into this crazy ultra gooey chocolate bread pudding that will have you savoring each and every bite. Can’t wait for you to try it 🙂 Enjoy!

Try my Apples and Spice bread pudding recipe too! Follow Picky Palate on Instagram for daily recipe inspiration.

What You’ll Need

butter– I generally use salted butter for my cooking and baking recipes. Unsalted works fine too.
heavy cream– Heavy cream is used in the egg mixture that gets baked in the bread pudding and it’s also used to make the icing.
large eggs– For consistency, use large eggs for your baking.
granulated sugar– This is a fine sugar that gives the bread pudding it’s sweetness.
unsweetened cocoa powder– Find unsweetened cocoa powder in the baking isle of the grocery store.
peppermint extract– Peppermint extract can be found near the other spices section. Near the vanilla.
Hawaiian bread– Find the Hawaiian bread in the bakery area of the grocery store. Rolls work just fine. Use kitchen scissors to cut them into cubes.
powdered sugar– Also referred to as confectioners sugar. This fine sugar is used to make the icing.
chocolate chunks– Find chocolate chunks in the baking section near the chocolate chips. They get sprinkled on top of the baked bread pudding.

How Do You Make Bread Pudding?

Bread pudding is made by soaking slightly stale bread in a custard of eggs, egg yolks, milk, and cream, then pressing the mixture into a pan or baking dish, and baking it in an oven until the custard sets up. It’s best served warm and is perfectly good on it’s own, but you can make a proper plated dessert by serving it with a sauce of fruit, caramel, or chocolate. Many people accent the flavor and texture of the pudding itself by adding dried fruit, nuts, berries, zest, extracts, or spices to the mix. With a good base recipe, there’s really no right or wrong when it comes to bread pudding.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large bowl whisk the melted butter, cream, eggs, sugar, cocoa and peppermint until well combined. Place bread cubes into prepared baking dish then pour chocolate mixture over top. With spoon, press bread to soak up the liquid. Bake for 40 minutes, until set in the middle. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes.
While the bread pudding is cooling prepare the icing by whisking the powdered sugar and cream until creamy and drizzle consistency. Add more cream if needed to thin out. Drizzle over warm bread pudding and top with chocolate chunks if desired. Serve warm.

The bread soaks up all of that goodness 🙂

A little sweet drizzle over the warm pudding.

How To Serve

Serve bread pudding warm in individual cups or bowls. Top with vanilla ice cream if you’d like!

Leftovers

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat as needed.

Tips For Making The Best Bread Pudding

Use Stale Bread. In order to achieve that perfect, sponge-like consistency in your bread pudding, be sure to use stale bread vs. fresh bread. Fresh bread is just too soft to soak up all the goodness of the custard.
Avoid whole grain breads. Bread pudding turns out best when you use plain French bread. Don’t have French bread? Then use some other variety of white bread or brioche. Whole grain breads just don’t taste as good, so avoid those “healthy breads” for best tasting results.
Want those edges all nice and crisp? Don’t skimp on greasing the pan! Use real butter and coat the pan with it before baking. Not only will everything turn out perfectly golden brown, but you’ll have less trouble with the bread sticking to the pan.