A few months ago, I had the opportunity to take a cooking class from the Mardi Gras School of Cooking in New Orleans, where I was introduced to this recipe. I’m not sure if I got it exactly the same as what we made in the class back then. Enough time has passed that my memory is fuzzy and there were some aspects of the recipe that left me with questions, so what I made in the photo above isn’t necessarily what I recommend below.

Important note: Use a lightweight bread like a baguette with a lot of air holes, as that will keep the pudding from getting too soggy and dense. Also, avoid bread with stronger flavors like sourdough or rye. Let it dry out and get completely stale, like unflavored croutons. This is a good dish to make when you can’t eat a baguette fast enough before it turns hard as a brick, as mine always seem to do.

Another note: This recipe makes more than will fit in a 9×5″ baking loaf pan, as the class recommended. The 2-inch-sized bread pieces wouldn’t all fit, and there will be custard mix leftover as well. I do remember that in the class we were told not to use all of it if we didn’t need it all to soak into the bread, but when I made it at home, I thought it would be better to use it than waste it. I added the leftover bread pieces to a second pan and dumped all the custard mix between them. Then then the recipe said to turn the baked pudding out of the pan, I realized this step doesn’t work when you use all the custard (see below).

Of course, you can always just leave the pudding in the pan if you like a more custard-rich pudding! I’m recommending 1/2-inch bread cubes instead of 2-inch ones because they might fit better in the pan, and will be easier to eat without a knife.

Bread Pudding:
2 14 oz. French bread, stale and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (or try 2-inch pieces if you want them to look like mine)
2 c. whole milk (you can substitute almond but not soy or oat)
2 c. sugar
8 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into tiny cubes
4 eggs
2 tbsp. vanilla extract
12 oz. chocolate chips (semi-sweet)

Brandy Chocolate Sauce:
1 stick (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. dark cocoa powder
1/2 c. brandy

Preheat the oven to 350F. Use cooking spray or butter to coat the inside of a 9×5″ baking loaf pan (or use a casserole pan if they won’t fit otherwise).

Add the stale bread pieces to a very large bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add a little of this mix at a time to the bread, folding gently as you go, letting the bread absorb the mix before adding more. Use only as much liquid as you need to wet the bread and have little excess liquid in the bottom of the bowl. Do NOT pat down or smash the bread pieces. (Any leftover mix can be saved to make into a custard. Or else, just go nuts and add all the custard; just don’t turn it out of the pan later.)

Pour 1/3 of the soaked bread into the baking dish. Then layer some of the chocolate chips and butter on top. Add another 1/2 of the bread, followed by more of the chocolate and butter.

Add the final 1/3 of the bread. Don’t smooth out the tops or push down — it will likely be taller than the edges of the pan but that’s fine. Leave the surface rough to get some good crunchy bits on top. Add the final bits of butter and chocolate.

Place the baking dish into a larger pan (9×13″ or similar). Pour some hot water about halfway up the sides of the larger pan to create a hot water bath (bain marie).

Place both pans in the oven together and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Cream the butter and sugar together in a saucepan over medium heat until all butter is absorbed. Remove the pan from heat and quickly blend in the cocoa and brandy, stirring constantly. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

When the pudding is done baking, turn it out of the pan immediately (unless you used all the custard) and let it cool slightly on a rack.

Serve warm slices of the pudding with the sauce.