Chocolate bread pudding

For chocolate bread pudding you will need:

8 slices of one-day old white bread, crust discarded and cut into 4 triangles each
150g / 5oz good quality 70% cocoa dark chocolate, broken into pieces
110g/ 4 oz caster sugar
4 tbsp dark rum
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
425ml/ 15 fl oz whipping cream
75g/ 3oz butter

Pouring cream or vanilla ice-cream to serve

Place all the ingredients except the bread, whipping cream and egg into a glass bowl. Place the bowl over a pan with simmering water. The bowl should not touch the water.

Keep the heat on low and keep stirring until all the ingredients are melted. Remove from heat and stir in the whipping cream. Put this mixture and the whisked egg into food processor and blend until smooth.

Pour 1/3 of this mixture into the bottom of a shallow ovenproof dish, approximately 6in x 9in. Arrange half of the bread triangles in an over-lapping pattern over the mixture. Pour another 1/3 of the mixture over the top. Press the floating bread triangles down with a fork. Arrange the rest of the bread over the top and finish off with the rest of the chocolate mixture on top. Cover with food wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 24 hours.

Bake at the top of a preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) for about 35 minutes until the top is crusty. Serve immediately with cream or ice-cream.