#BloggerCLUE ~ Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with Rum Cinnamon Sauce

 

Welcome to the March reveal day for the lovely C.L.U.E. Bloggers! Our theme this month is Easter - which left us open to select almost anything! If it could be affiliated with Easter or served for Easter then it was fair game. This month I was paired with the lovely Kate who blogs at Kate's Kitchen. At first I was thinking about trying to look for some cute Easter egg cookies or a cake, but to narrow down what Kate might already have shared I ran a search on "Easter" which led me to an amazing list of Easter Dinner menu suggestions that Kate had put together for Easter in 2011. My sister and I were reading through the delicious selections and then we came to the end... Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with Rum Cinnamon Sauce. We looked at each other and that was that!

Kate is a financial planner who lives in Indianapolis, IN and shares a busy and full life with her husband, sous chef, and chief taste tester Connie. They enjoy everything from traveling to the Red Sox together.

This is such a special and rich dessert to share on a day like Easter with your family. The sauce is amazing and really complements the rich, custardy, buttery bread pudding. The original recipe calls for a full cup of chocolate chips but I halved it with butterscotch chips and think it works very well, as the chocolate can be pretty strong and 1/2 a cup seemed about right for my tastes.

The sauce for this recipe is particularly amazing and could be used in a million different ways. I was dreaming of french toast with bananas and this sauce drizzled over the top... and maybe some homemade whipped cream. Yumm. This dessert is best served fresh from the oven, but can easily be stored in the refrigerator and reheated in the oven as needed.

See all the beautiful Easter-inspired dishes today:

• Asparagus Tips with Cucumber Vinaigrette by Anna from annaDishes
• Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with Rum Cinnamon Sauce by Rebekah from Making Miracles
• Cloverleaf Rolls by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Grilled Lamb Chops Dijon by Sue from A Palatable Pastime
• Honey and Thyme Glazed Ham by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
• Honey Balsamic Carrots by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
• Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
• Lemon Loaf by Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Maple Bacon Braised Brussels Sprouts by Christiane from Taking on Magazines
• New Potato Salad Tartare by Kate from Kate's Kitchen
• Rosemary Cheddar Cornbread Muffins by Amy from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Strawberry Shortcakes with Olive Oil Cake by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Surprise Carrot Cake by Debra from Eliot's Eats
• Sweet Almond Pastry by Kathy from Bakeaway with Me
• Kathy from A Spoonful of Thyme
• Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with Rum Cinnamon Sauce from Kate's Kitchen

Bread Pudding Ingredients
1 1-lb loaf brioche cut into 1" cubes (I used Great White Mountain bread)
10 TBS butter, melted and divided use
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
2 1/2 cups half and half
1 cup sugar
6 large eggs
4 egg yolks
2 TBS vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
2 TBS packed dark brown sugar

Rum Sauce
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 TBS cup dark rum
1/2 TBS vanilla

Directions

1. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.  
2. In a large bowl, toss the bread with 8 tablespoons of the melted butter. Add the chocolate and butterscotch chips and toss to combine.
3. Pour the bread and chocolate chip mixture into the prepped baking dish.  
4. In the bowl blend the half and half with the sugar, eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and salt.  
5. Pour the custard mix over the bread in the baking dish. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to press all the bread into the custard to make sure it is coated and able to soak in the mixture.    
6. Let the pudding stand for thirty minutes.  Push the bread down every 10 minutes.  Heat the oven to 350.  
7. Drizzle the remaining butter over the bread pudding then sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar. 
8. Bake until puffed and golden, about one hour.  Remove from the oven.  The pudding will fall in a few minutes.  

Rum Sauce Instructions

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Stir in the brown sugar and combine until the sugar is melted.  Add the cinnamon, rum and vanilla.  Serve warm over the bread pudding.