Chocolate Raspberry Bread Pudding

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
2. Cut the bread into small bite sized chunks and spread them in one layer on a baking tray.
3. Bake the bread chunks in the oven for about 10 minutes until they become crispy around the edges but still soft in the middle. Check on the bread chunks after the first 5 minutes, as you don't want them to become too dry and hard.
4. Remove them from the oven and let them cool. Put aside about 1 cup of these toasted bread chunks.
5. Lower the heat of the oven to 325°F/165°C.
6. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until they become pale and frothy.
7. Whisk in half and half and vanilla.
8. Place the bread chunks (not the one cup of toasted bread chunks) in the milk mix and let them soak for at least 30 minutes, till they are completely soaked through with the milk mix. From time to time, give them a stir and press them down to make sure they are soaking up the custard evenly.
9. TO MAKE ONE BIG PUDDINGPour the milk and saturated bread mix into a buttered 7inch by 9inch baking dish. Sprinkle about ½ of the raspberry ontop and gently press them into the custard and bread mix.
10. Sprinkle the 1 cup of toasted bread chunks on top of the bread pudding and press them down slightly into the custard. It should still be the top layer. Leave to rest for about 10 minutes and brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle a little brown sugar.
11. Bake in a preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes or until the custard is set. When you insert a tooth pick it should come out clean without any liquid.
12. Serve warm with the rest of the raspberries.

TO MAKE INDIVIDUAL SERVINGS -

1. Butter 6 -, 6 ounce ramekins. Using a spoon place enough of the soaked bread chunks in each of the ramekins in one thick layer at the bottom (about ⅓ of the ramekin).
2. Place a few raspberries in each ramekin on top of the bread.
3. Ladle the custard to fill the ramekins up to ¾ full.
4. Evenly divide the one cup of toasted bread chunks between the 6 ramekins and gently press them down.
5. Add more milk to each of the ramekins making sure there is a half centimeter gap between the fill line and the top edge of the ramekin. Leave ramekins to rest for 10 minutes and brush the tops with butter and sprinkle about 1 tsp of brown sugar on top.
6. Place ramekins on a baking tray and bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until the custard has set.
7. Serve warm with the rest of the raspberries.