Bananas Foster Bread Pudding

Bananas Foster Bread Pudding.. is really quite easy to make... perfect for a family dessert.. fancy enough for company.

What could be better than brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and rum? ... love this sauce... absolutely love it!  So I admit.. since Warren is absolutely crazy about bananas... bananas over bananas.. okay.. okay.. it's early and I'm a little punchy.. forgive me that little joke... seriously though.. I admit to finding ways to use the bananas and that sauce... give the man who invented it.. sainthood.

TIPS

I use rum extract instead of rum ... not everyone wants alcohol in their dessert... it's a pretty good substitution..

The original Bananas Foster has a rum and banana liqueur based sauce... you can use the real thing or substitute rum extract... which I've done in this recipe... if you want to use the real thing... here is a link to Brennan'sRestaurant website where you will find the original recipe.

I chopped about 1/2 a banana and mixed it into the bread mixture... it became gooey with baking.. and the flavor was great...

I recommend that you sprinkle the cinnamon on the bread and toss it.. then add the egg mixture... if you add it to the egg mixture directly .. it clumps.. not a big deal .. just a pain in the butt to beat it so it breaks up....

For Bananas Foster usually the cinnamon goes into the brown sugar mixture... but I for this I put it into the bread pudding part... so the cinnamon flavor is in the pudding ... otherwise the pudding is a little bland.

Be sure to pour the egg mixture over all the bread... and any dry spots.. push them into the egg mixture... allow about 30 minutes for the egg mixture to be absorbed into the bread...

I used two day old French bread... it was still a bit soft.. I store mine in plastic Zip Loc bags...

The bread cubes are approximate... I had a long baguette of French bread and used about 1/2 of it... about 4 cups of bread cubes.. I left the crusts on.

I used a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.... I noticed manufacturers don't always put the size on the baking dish.. to tell what size it is...  measure water in a measuring cup and add it to your dish... add water until it's full ... keep track of how much you water you measured ... that should tell you how big your baking dish is.

I place the baking dish on a baking sheet to prevent any spillovers in the oven.. mine did not spill.. but if I didn't do this.. I can guarantee it would make a mess in my oven.. so to be safe.. I always place it on a baking sheet.

I hope you try this delicious and really easy dessert!

Recipe:  Bananas Foster Bread Pudding

All you need:

For the Bread Pudding:

4 cups French Bread, cubed

1/2 banana, chopped

1 teaspoon cinnamon

6 eggs, beaten

1 cup fat free half and half

2 teaspoons vanilla

Butter flavor cooking oil spray

For the Sauce:

2 1/2 teaspoons rum extract

1 cup brown sugar

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 bananas, sliced

Topping:

Whipped cream (optional)

All you need to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with butter flavor cooking oil spray.

Sprinkle or toss the bread cubes and the chopped banana with cinnamon to evenly coat.  Add it to the prepared baking dish.

In a large bowl, whisk the beaten eggs, vanilla and half and half.  Pour the mixture over the bread cubes, make sure all the bread cubes are wet with no dry spots.  *See TIPS

Allow bread cubes to sit for about 30 minutes to absorb the egg mixture.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.... I start checking at 35 minutes.  If your bread starts to get too dark.. loosely place a piece of foil over it ... I did that at about 20 minutes.

When it's done baking.. I make the sauce...

Combine the all sauce ingredients except the bananas over medium high heat, stirring frequently until sugar has melted and sauce begins to thicken.  Add the sliced bananas and cook for about 1 minute.

Serve the pudding in bowls .. pour some sauce over it.. then a dollop of whipped cream... and enjoy!