This easy bread pudding features slices of soft brioche or challah layered with sliced fresh pears and a dash of bittersweet chocolate in a rich custard filling. Serve it warm with our favorite homemade caramel sauce for a delicious fall dessert.
PREP TIME 15 minutesminutes
COOK TIME 1 hourhour
TOTAL TIME 1 hourhour15 minutesminutes
YIELD 8servings
Ingredients
1tbspbuttersoftened for the baking dish
3ozbittersweet chocolatebroken into pieces
3firm ripe pearsWe enjoyed Bartlett, about 1.5 pounds
7ozchallah or brioche bread
3large eggs plus 3 egg yolks
1 1/2cupswhole milk
1 1/4cupsheavy cream
1/2cupbrown sugarpacked
1tspground cinnamon
1/4tsptable salt
1tbspsugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread a tablespoon of softened butter all over the inside of a 8x11-inch baking dish and set aside.
Break the chocolate into small pieces and sprinkle them evenly over the bottom of the dish.
Core and slice the pears into thin pieces, there's no need to peel them. Slice the bread into 1/2-inch thick slices.
Layer the slices of bread in the dish, alternating with 1 -2 pear slices. Make sure the dish is filled from end to end so it bakes evenly. You can gently tuck and crowd the sliced bread and pears into place as you go, fill in any gaps at the end with pears or bread as needed.
In a large bowl, gently whisk together the eggs and egg yolks, milk, cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the mixture evenly over the layered bread and pears and let the entire dish sit for 5 minutes so the bread can absorb some of the liquid. Sprinkle the top evenly with the remaining tablespoon of sugar to give the dish a nice sparkling crunch.
Bake for 60 minutes or until the custard is set and the top of the bread is golden brown. Let it cool slightly before slicing and serving so you can get neat pieces.
Serve the bread pudding warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Storage Tips
The prepared bread pudding can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can serve it at room temperature or gently reheat it in the oven covered in aluminum foil so it doesn't brown.