Vanilla Cherry Chocolate Bread Pudding Recipe

Bread Pudding Recipe Ingredients:

2 cups whole grain bread, toured into cubes
1 tablespoon toasted wheat germ, toasted
3 tablespoon dried cherries, snipped
2/3 cup milk, reduced fat or fat free
1/3 cup frozen or refrigerated egg product, thawed
Cooking spray
¼ cup semisweet chocolate pieces
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange peel, shredded finely
Unsweetened cocoa powder, optional
Light whipped dessert topping, if frozen then thawed, optional

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Lightly coat four different custard cups or 6 ounce soufflé dishes with cooking spray. Equally divide cherries, bread crumbs and wheat germ among all the custard cups. Leave aside.
2. Combine low fat milk with semisweet chocolate in a small sauce pan. Stir the chocolate with the milk on low flame until the chocolate melts completely. As the chocolate melts remove the pan from heat. To get a smooth mixture beat the heated milk and chocolate lightly with a wire whisk.
3. If you use frozen egg product, make sure to thaw it completely before proceeding with this recipe. Beat the thawed egg product in a bowl lightly. Gently add the milk and chocolate mixture small amount at a time, stir constantly. Add orange peel and vanilla essence to it and mix well. Pour this mixture over the bread crumbs placed in the custard cups. With the back of a spoon press the egg mixture over the bread crumbs lightly so that the bread gets little moistened.
4. Place the custard cups in the preheated oven and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the top appears firm. To check insert a knife in the middle of the custard cup, if the knife comes out clean then consider the custard baked. If the contents stick to the knife then bake for another 5 minutes.
5. Remove the custard cups from the oven and let them stand for 5 minutes. If desired, pour whipped cream topping over the custard and sprinkle them with cocoa powder before serving. This recipe makes 4 servings.

Health Tip:

• Cherry chocolate bread pudding can be an excellent choice for desserts as it is a simple recipe that can be prepared in about 30 to 35 minutes. Moreover this recipe is also low in calories and total fat, per serving cherry chocolate bread pudding provides about 145 calories and 4 gm total fat.
• To make this recipe diabetes friendly substitute table sugar with granulated natural or artificial sweetener.