Tuesday, February 24, 2015

WALNUT BANANA BREAD PUDDING

This recipe is a little different twist on the old-fashion bread pudding. I have had this recipe for years.

1/2 cup butter, divided
1 loaf (16-oz) day old French bread, cut into small cubes
1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans, if you prefer), divided
4 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 can (14-oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (14-oz) coconut milk
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
pinch of salt
4 medium to large very ripe bananas, mashed
whipped cream for garnish, optional
fresh banana slices for garnish, optional
additional coarsely chopped nuts for garnish, optional

Using 1 tablespoon of the butter, butter a 9 x 13-inch baking pan; place remaining butter in a small saucepan and melt of low heat.

Spread the bread cubes out in the baking pan and drizzle with the melted butter.

Place the nuts in a large (dry) skillet and toast over medium-low heat stirring constantly for a couple of minutes until nuts are light brown and give off a toasted fragrance. Immediately remove from heat and transfer to a small bowl to cool; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs just to break up the yolks. Mix in the heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, cocont milk, brown sugar, vanilla extract, spices and salt. Whisk mixture to combine thoroughly until smooth. Stir in the bananas and 3/4 cup of the nuts.

Pour the banana mixture over the bread cubes, pushing bread cubes down with the back of a spoon to coat completely with the mixture.

Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the mixture then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 to 12 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove pan from refrigerator, remove plastic wrap and replace with foil.

Bake 15 minutes, remove foil and bake another 45 minutes or until the top is browned and the sides are pulling away from the pan.

Cool before cutting to serve. Serve each piece garnished with whipped cream, banana slices and chopped nuts, if desired.

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