When Life Gives You Stale Bread Make Chocolate Bread Pudding

Joining a group of authors/bloggers for 10 exciting days of recipes and garden tips. To be eligible for the grand prize ( a Nook or Kindle along with a $25 gift card for the same)  you must visit each and every author on the hop and leave a comment. Giveaway ends April 16th at 11:59 PM EST. Open to Legal Residents (18 years of age or older) of the US only. Prizes cannot be shipped to PO Boxes. Leave a comment and your email. Here's the link to the list of authors.

http://new.inlinkz.com/luwpview.php?id=369110

My giveaway includes a $10 DD gift card, recipes, and fun baking stuff. There's also a print copy of Chocolate Magic. One winner will be picked randomly at the end of the event.

 Open to Legal Residents (18 years of age or older) of the US only. Prizes cannot be shipped to PO Boxes. 

Here's the much anticipated recipe I promised to those of you who visited my blog yesterday.
In  CHOCOLATE COUTURE, my hero finds himself in a mess when his hard of hearing uncle orders too many hamburger buns. Lucky for Noah, Lily takes pity on him and offers a recipe for a delicious chocolate bread pudding. 

 I'm not a fan of bread pudding, but if you add chocolate I just might try it. I'm also a semi-homemade kind of baker which makes step 5 my favorite. It's okay to skip to that one if you'd prefer.
Here's a recipe from Real Simple.

Michael PaulMakes 8 servings, with leftovers| Hands-On Time: 15m| Total Time: 2hr 00m

• 4 cups milk
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 8 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 loaf white bread, crusts trimmed
• 1 pint heavy cream, whipped

Directions

1. Whisk the milk, eggs, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Add the butter and chocolate and heat over low heat, stirring only until the butter and chocolate melt. Stir in the vanilla.
2. Lightly coat a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the bread slices in 3 layers. Pour the chocolate sauce over the bread.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and place another baking dish on top to weigh down the bread. Set aside for 1 hour to allow the bread to absorb the sauce. (Can be made to this point up to 1 day ahead. Refrigerate.) Heat oven to 325° F.
4. Remove the top baking dish and plastic. Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes or until set. Serve warm with whipped cream.
5. To fake It...and save 1 hour, 10 minutes:Thaw two 13-ounce packages frozen French toast and cut into 1 ½-inch cubes. Heat oven to 325° F. Lightly coat a 13-by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Place the toast in the dish. Beat 4 cups milk, one 12-ounce can chocolate syrup, and 2 eggs; pour over the toast. Cover with foil and bake 10 minutes. Remove foil and stir. Bake, uncovered, 20 to 25 minutes longer or until set. Serve warm with canned whipped cream. Total time: 50 minutes.