Decadent Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding

Why This Decadent Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding Works

In the bowl, the cream, milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt turn into a loose custard. Once the brioche cubes go in, they start soaking up that liquid like little sponges. Over a few minutes, the bread pulls the custard inside, so it is wet all the way through instead of just on the outside. The chopped dark chocolate and cherries sit in between the bread pieces and tuck into the gaps.

In the oven, the eggs in the custard slowly set. As the heat moves through the dish, the soaked brioche firms up just enough to hold together, but stays soft in the middle. Chocolate melts and spreads around the bread, while the cherries soften and let out some juice that sinks into nearby pieces. By the time it is done baking, the top has dried a bit and browned, so it is lightly crisp, while the inside stays moist, custardy, and full of melted chocolate and cherry pockets.

Mistakes To Avoid

Baking this pudding until the top is very dark and the center feels firm can dry it out. The custard inside keeps cooking after it comes out of the oven, so if it is already fully set in the oven, it turns stiff and the bread becomes tough instead of soft and creamy.

Pouring the custard over the bread and rushing it straight into the oven gives the bread no time to soak. When that happens, the centers of the cubes stay dry and pale, and the pudding bakes into a loose mix of wet and dry chunks instead of one smooth, custardy dish.

Using fresh, super-soft brioche instead of day-old bread often leads to a soggy pudding. The very soft bread collapses and breaks apart in the liquid, so the texture turns mushy and pasty instead of having tender, distinct pieces.

Stirring the cherries and chocolate too roughly with the bread can crush the fruit and smear melted chocolate everywhere. This makes the custard grayish and streaky, and the pudding loses those nice pockets of whole cherries and chunks of chocolate.