Coconut and chocolate bread pudding

These recipes are from my friend Erin.  She made both for us one Sunday for dessert and they are both completely amazing!

Coconut Cream Bread Pudding

Southern Living

Erin Slack

1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 ½ cups sugar, divided

4 large eggs

2 ½ cups milk, at room temp and divided

1 (15 oz) can cream of coconut, divided

8 Tbsp butter, melted and divided

1 (8 oz) French bread loaf, cut into 1-inch cubes

vegetable cooking spray

½ cup sweetened flaked coconut

½ cup shopped pecans

preheat oven to 350.

Beat cream cheese at low speed with and electric mixer until creamy and smooth.  Add 1 cup sugar and eggs, and beat at medium speed 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Stir in 2 cups milk, 1 cup cream or coconut, and 3 Tbsp melted butter.  Stir in bread cubes.  Let stand 5 minutes. 

Coat a 13 x 9- inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Pour bread mixture into dish.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until set.

Stir together flaked coconut, pecans, and 3 Tbsp. melted butter.  Sprinkle coconut mixture over baked pudding, and bake 5-8 more minutes or until browned.

Stir together remaining ½ cup milk and ½ cup cream of coconut.

Cook remaining ½ cup sugar in a medium-size heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, 3 minutes or until sugar is caramelized and mixture becomes a light brown syrup.* Stir in milk mixture, and cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes or until sauce is thickened slightly and sugar is dissolved.  Stir in remaining 2 Tbsp melted butter.

*sugar will likely crystallize, when you add the milk mixture and cook it will eventually dissolve.

Cut bread pudding into 8-10 servings, and serve with caramelized sugar sauce.

Jim’s Chocolate Bread Pudding

1 bag of sliced bread 

1 cup brown sugar

12onz. semi sweet chocolate chips

4onz. butter

2 cups of milk

6 to 8 eggs

2-3 tbls vainilla extract

2-3 tbls almond extract

1 dash of salt

Let bread dry and cut it in pieces

mix together eggs, milk, salt, vainilla and almond

in a bowl melt chocolate, sugar and butter (on a sauce pan with hot water?) 

put together bread and the "eggs and milk" mix

then add the chocolate mix.

bake at 350º for 60min.