Double Chocolate Bread Pudding with Dulce de Leche

Ingredients

• 1 lb bread french cut into 1-inch cubes
• 6 large eggs beaten
• 1.5 cups half and half 
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder instant
• 1 cup brown sugar light packed
• 0.3 teaspoon salt 
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
• 0.5 cup sugar 
• 28 oz condensed milk sweetened canned
• 0.5 cup cocoa powder unsweetened
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
• 2 cups milk whole

Equipment

• bowl
• oven
• knife
• whisk
• pot
• baking pan

Directions

1. Pour condensed milk into a bowl; set over a pot of simmering water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is very thick and golden brown, about 2 1/2 hours.
2. Add more water to pot during cooking time, if necessary.
3. Remove bowl; set aside to cool.
4. Make pudding: Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
5. Spread bread in dish; sprinkle with chocolate. In a bowl, whisk both sugars, cocoa and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk milk, half-and-half and eggs. Dissolve espresso in vanilla; whisk into egg mixture.
6. Whisk egg mixture into bowl with cocoa mixture.
7. Pour over bread cubes. Cover loosely; let stand for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 325F.
8. Remove cover.
9. Bake pudding until puffed and set in center, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Insert a small knife into center; it should come out clean.
10. Let stand for 10 minutes.
11. Drizzle with dulce de leche and serve with ice cream, if desired.