Nutella Bread Puddings

This delicious, decadent recipe is courtesy of Baking Bites. It originally calls for challah or brioche, but our grocery store’s bakery stopped making them. I ended up using half a loaf of potato bread, because it had that yellow color I was looking for, and I cut off the crusts. I also used more of that coconut milk beverage instead of lactose-free cow’s milk, but that would have worked too. Of course, the Engineer prefers these babies cold, but they were SO good warm from the oven! I put my last one in the microwave for 20 seconds, and it was perfect. This makes about 6 servings.

5 cups cubed challah, brioche or equivalent bread (approx ½ loaf)
2 cups lactose-free milk
2 large eggs
½ cup Nutella
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 °F. Lightly grease six 6-oz ramekins.

In a large bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, Nutella, cocoa powder and vanilla until very smooth. Add in cubed bread and turn gently with a spatula to coat. Let stand for 5 minutes to allow bread to soak up some of the liquid. Gently fold in chocolate chips.

Use a large spoon or ladle to evenly distribute the pudding mixture between the prepared ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet (you may want to line it with aluminum foil to catch any drips). Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puddings are puffed set.

Cool for 10 minutes before serving. Puddings may deflate slightly as they cool. Serve warm or cold, according to preference.