Caramel-Banana Bread Pudding
No, this isn't made with banana bread, but that might be an interesting approach in the future. I came across this recipe while flipping through Bon Appétit. I had decided on bread pudding because my mother really likes it. I found a few recipes, but this one called to me - salt caramel and bananas. One of the recipes I had flipped through called for brioche, I decided to replace the white bread in the BA recipe with brioche. I hit the local bakery to be told they don't make it anymore. Well, I went home and almost broke my KitchenAid!
I made three small loaves of "Rich Man's" Brioche. The dough was SO tough on the stand mixer, but OHHH the smell of butter. This was my first time attempting brioche, and it came out perfectly - all three loaves. One loaf was sacrificed to French toast and toddler munching, the rest was saved for bread pudding.
The pudding recipe was pretty easy, it even used store bought caramel sauce to save time. I made a few small changes to the recipe -- I used vanilla bean pods, the brioche, less caramel, and a little extra sea salt. But everything else was straight from the magazine
Caramel-Banana Bread Pudding
8 ramekins
Lay out all the brioche and lightly toast in the oven - you are not looking to add color, just to stiffen up the surface. Mix the caramel with the coarse and fine sea salts. Once toasted, spoon 1 tbsp of the caramel sauce in each ramekin. When the bread is cool, spread the remaining caramel sauce evenly over the rest of the bread. Broil the bread for one minute and rotate the pan. broil for 30 to 60 more seconds. you want the caramel to bubble little, and the bread to begin to darken - do not burn the bread or caramel. Cool
While the bread cools, rub the inside of each ramekin with cold butter. Cut each piece of bread into four pieces and place a banana slice on each piece. If you cut it diagonally, you might be able to cover each piece with a single slice. standing the bread on it's edge, place 5 or 6 slices in each ramekin - you may have to push the last piece in place. Once they are all done, prepare the filling.
Whisk the eggs, half and half, milk, vanilla paste, 1 1/2 tbsp sugar, and 1/8 tsp fine sea salt together. Pour the mixture into each ramekin (I filled each 1/2 up, then balanced the rest of the custard across the ramekins so they were all filled to the same level). Let the custard sit for 30 minutes - most of the mixture will be absorbed in the bread. They can be refrigerated (covered) for up to 8 hours at this point.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and set a pot of water boiling. If you have any extra custard, pour it into the ramekins. Brush the exposed bread with the melted butter and sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar over the ramekins. When the oven is preheated, place the ramekins in a large roasting pan, put the roasting pan in the oven, then pour in the water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. bake for 45 minutes - checking the last 10 minutes for burning. A knife should come out cleanly.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream would go well with these.
They came out beautifully, but next time I would either add chopped up salt caramels with the bananas, or place a whole salt caramel in the center of the empty ramekin - the gooey center concept. The addition of the larger salt crystals gets you a few 'crunchy salt' moments when eating. If you have had salt caramel, you know probably what I am talking about.
I made three small loaves of "Rich Man's" Brioche. The dough was SO tough on the stand mixer, but OHHH the smell of butter. This was my first time attempting brioche, and it came out perfectly - all three loaves. One loaf was sacrificed to French toast and toddler munching, the rest was saved for bread pudding.The pudding recipe was pretty easy, it even used store bought caramel sauce to save time. I made a few small changes to the recipe -- I used vanilla bean pods, the brioche, less caramel, and a little extra sea salt. But everything else was straight from the magazine
Caramel-Banana Bread Pudding
- 1 cup purchased caramel sauce
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt- 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt (I used gray)
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt (yes 2, it's not duplicated)
- 3 1/2 bananas
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups half and half
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 11 slices of brioche (2.5x3-inch slices 1/4 inches thick
8 ramekins
Lay out all the brioche and lightly toast in the oven - you are not looking to add color, just to stiffen up the surface. Mix the caramel with the coarse and fine sea salts. Once toasted, spoon 1 tbsp of the caramel sauce in each ramekin. When the bread is cool, spread the remaining caramel sauce evenly over the rest of the bread. Broil the bread for one minute and rotate the pan. broil for 30 to 60 more seconds. you want the caramel to bubble little, and the bread to begin to darken - do not burn the bread or caramel. Cool
While the bread cools, rub the inside of each ramekin with cold butter. Cut each piece of bread into four pieces and place a banana slice on each piece. If you cut it diagonally, you might be able to cover each piece with a single slice. standing the bread on it's edge, place 5 or 6 slices in each ramekin - you may have to push the last piece in place. Once they are all done, prepare the filling.Whisk the eggs, half and half, milk, vanilla paste, 1 1/2 tbsp sugar, and 1/8 tsp fine sea salt together. Pour the mixture into each ramekin (I filled each 1/2 up, then balanced the rest of the custard across the ramekins so they were all filled to the same level). Let the custard sit for 30 minutes - most of the mixture will be absorbed in the bread. They can be refrigerated (covered) for up to 8 hours at this point.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and set a pot of water boiling. If you have any extra custard, pour it into the ramekins. Brush the exposed bread with the melted butter and sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar over the ramekins. When the oven is preheated, place the ramekins in a large roasting pan, put the roasting pan in the oven, then pour in the water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. bake for 45 minutes - checking the last 10 minutes for burning. A knife should come out cleanly.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream would go well with these.
They came out beautifully, but next time I would either add chopped up salt caramels with the bananas, or place a whole salt caramel in the center of the empty ramekin - the gooey center concept. The addition of the larger salt crystals gets you a few 'crunchy salt' moments when eating. If you have had salt caramel, you know probably what I am talking about.
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