Bourbon Maple Chocolate Bread Pudding

When I first received my legendary bottle of bourbon maple syrup, I immediately thought of making a bread pudding. As I thought about it more and more, this amazing creation began to take shape and I ended up with what, in my humble opinion, is one of best bread puddings I've ever had.

Warning: this one takes a while, but I promise that it's worth it. If you are patient you'll be rewarded with creamy bread pudding and a phenomenal depth of flavor.

Prep time: 10 hours
Cook time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients:

½ loaf of challah
3 C milk
2 tbsp butter
½ C bourbon maple syrup
2 tbsp bourbon
2 oz dark chocolate chopped into small chunks
3 eggs
2 strips of bacon cooked and broken into pieces

Directions:

Cut the challah into 1 inch cubes and allow them to sit out for 8 hours or overnight to stale and dry. After the bread has dried, put it in a greased 2 quart baking dish.

Next, add the milk, butter, syrup, and bourbon to a medium saucepan and heat on low until the butter melts, then stir in the chocolate, making sure it is thoroughly melted and mixed before removing the mixture from the heat. Allow the mixture to cool before whisking in the 3 eggs. Pour the mixture over the bread and stash in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Remove the mixture from the fridge and allow it to come to room temp while you preheat your oven to 350. Top the mixture with the bacon pieces* before baking for 30-45 minutes or until the outside is set and the middle still has a little wobble. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.

*For even more flavor, top with bourbon maple glazed bacon.