Serendipity: Banana Bread Pudding

After being sick all week (and not visiting the grocery store), my family was invited to an impromptu birthday party for a friend. After a moment of panic, wondering what I could possibly make, I discover a brilliant recipe for Banana Bread Pudding over at Kitchen Scoop. Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross, authors of Desperation Dinners, are experts at creating easy-to-make recipes that taste amazing. And as luck would have it, I'd purchased some bananas and a bag of Hawaiian Sweet Bread before getting ill that for some reason had been overlooked by all the starving children while I was too sick to cook. The Banana Bread Pudding went together quickly. It tasted great too. I can only imagine how good it would have tasted with the caramel sauce. It'll have to wait until next time because I was in a hurry and walked out without the sauce. ::sigh:: In my haste I walked out without the camera too so I don't have a picture of the Banana Bread Pudding either. Here's a picture of Hank, the German Wire-Haired Pointer instead.

Banana Bread Pudding
Recipe courtesy of  Kitchen Scoop

6 cups soft bread cubes, from French bread or white sandwich bread, loosely packed
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
1 cup milk*
5 egg yolks*
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups mashed ripe banana
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Rich Caramel Sauce, optional for serving*
Vanilla ice cream, optional for serving

Lightly grease a 13 X 9-inch glass baking dish with butter. Set aside.

Cut bread into bite-size cubes, (do not use the crust if it is tough), and place in prepared dish. Set aside.

Place butter in a microwave-safe measuring cup or bowl, and microwave, covered with a paper towel, on high, until melted, about 45 seconds. Drizzle butter over bread cubes, tossing cubes while drizzling butter. Stir and toss cubes to distribute butter as evenly as possible. Set aside.

Pour cream and milk into a small saucepan, and bring it just to a boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, place egg yolks in a small mixing bowl, and beat lightly with whisk. When cream mixture boils, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Whisk in egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk well. Pour mixture over bread cubes. Cover dish with foil, and refrigerate at least 1 hour (and up to 4 hours) so bread can begin to absorb milk mixture.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove bread pudding from the refrigerator, and uncover. Combine bananas and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir banana mixture into bread pudding, and then smooth top with the back of a spoon. Re-cover dish and cut 6 small holes in foil so steam can escape. Bake, covered with foil, until set, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove bread pudding from oven and cool 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm in dessert bowls, with sauce of choice and ice cream, if desired.