Chocolate Bread Pudding

So after Tony had a sinus infection last week, he lovingly passed it onto me :)!! Not a pleasant experience especially since I was hit much harder than he was and after 3 days of OTC medicines had to go in to see the doctor and get the big guns!!! Last night was the worst ... head ache, plugged up, sore scratchy throat and a lot of coughing, fever .. the works!! So as I'm laying in bed with my achy throat, I was craving something soft and gooey (oh no!). So I decided to try this bread pudding, which came together in 5 minutes and was warm and gooey after 30 min at 375 F. 

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Prep Time: Less than 5 min and 30 min in the oven

Ingredients (Serves 2):

1. 3 slices of 100% whole wheat bread (I used Brownberry Double Fiber Bread)
   
2. 4 tbsp Vegan Chocolate Chocolate chips
3. 2 tbsp Slivered Almonds
4. 1 cup Almond Milk (Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened)
5. 1-2 tbsp Maple Syrup (to taste)
6. 1 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa
7. 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
8. 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut bread slices into halves and place the first 2 in a bread pan. Sprinkle a few almonds and chocolate chips on these and then add 2 more slices. Sprinkle a few more almonds and chocolate chips and top off with the last slice of bread. In a separate cup make a thick paste with cocoa, vanilla extract, cinnamon and maple syrup and then add almond milk and mix it all together. Making a paste with maple syrup first helps the cocoa and cinnamon mix into the milk much better than if you added these directly to the milk. Once the almond milk mixture is nice and smooth, pour it over the bread very slowly making sure some of it is absorbed into the top slice and seeps in (instead of just pouring off to the side). Place in oven and bake uncovered for 30 minutes (at the end you should see no spare liquid, except for thick gooey chocolaty bubbles on the side) as it should all be absorbed by the bread). Serve warm, with freshly sliced bananas and sprinkled with slivered almonds and more chocolate chips. 

Gooey Chocolate Bread Pudding

My Assessment: This hit the spot last night. The bread was gooey and soft and chocolaty and no added fat!! I like nuts but Tony doesn't and so I will probably make it without the added nuts the next time and just sprinkle some on top for myself. 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 110 (Fat Calories 41)
Total Fat 4.6 g; Carbohydrates 17.0 g; Fiber 2.3 g; Sugars 12.3 g; Protein 2.3 g