Bread Pudding With Warm Banana Maple Sauce Food

WARM BANANA PUDDING

Steps:

• Custard base: Heat whole milk, half and half, vanilla, and vanilla bean in a large saucepan until bubbles start forming around the edge of the pan. Remove from heat and set aside. Place egg yolks and 2 cups of sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high until light and fluffy, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour to the egg mixture on low just to incorporate. With the mixer on, slowly pour about a cup of the custard base from the saucepan into the egg mixture-this "tempering" will keep the eggs from cooking. Pour the tempered mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the saucepan (to smooth out any remaining lumps). Stir to combine, then fish out the vanilla bean. Split it open lengthwise, then use the back of a knife to scrape out the seeds. Return seeds and the scraped pod to the saucepan.
• Heat the custard mixture over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with heat-resistant spatula until thickened. (If the custard turns lumpy, turn off the heat and whisk until it's smooth again.) Whisk in salt and butter until smooth, then remove the vanilla bean pod and discard. To make it super-smooth, blend with an immersion blender until shiny. Set aside.
• Assembly: Slice the pound cake into 1/2-inch-thick slices and set aside. Pour 1/3 of the custard into a casserole dish to cover the bottom. Add the cake in a single layer, breaking slices up so they all fit. Brush cake with coffee, then add half of the bananas. Press the ingredients down so they're even, then repeat with more custard, cake slices, coffee, and bananas, finishing with a final layer of custard.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put egg whites, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Start the mixer on low (to avoid spatters), gradually raise speed to high to make sure the ingredients are combined, and then reduce to medium until soft peaks form. Spread meringue evenly over the banana pudding, then bake 5-6 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let cool several minutes, and serve warm.

PLAIN AND PERFECT BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch baking dish.
• Arrange the bread cubes tightly in the prepared baking dish. Beat together the butter, milk, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl. Add the granulated and brown sugars and mix until dissolved. Pour the mixture over the bread.
• Put the baking dish on a baking sheet. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 55 to 70 minutes. Let rest for 20 minutes before serving.

WARM BANANAS WITH BROWN SUGAR AND BAY LEAF

Steps:

• In large skillet over high heat, melt the butter and cook until it browns, about 3 minutes. Add the bay leaves and stand back (it may pop). Add the lemon juice, orange juice, brown sugar, brandy, and a pinch of salt. Bring the mixture up to a boil. Stir and cook until the liquid has reduced by half and it has reached a syrupy consistency, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the bananas and pepper. Stir to coat the bananas evenly. Serve immediately spooned over cake or ice cream.
• Cooking Notes: You can make the sauce hours ahead of time. Just add the fruit after you bring the sauce back to a simmer. The fruit should be a little cool inside. Serve it with a good, store bought chocolate cake or spoon it over your favorite ice cream.

CREAMY MAPLE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a 1 1/2-quart casserole or baking dish.
• Place the bread cubes into the prepared pan. Whisk the eggs, milk, cream, syrup, sugar, flavoring, nutmeg, and salt together. Pour over the bread cubes and let sit for 15 minutes to absorb the liquid. Press the cubes down into the liquid if the edges are dry.
• Bake the pudding for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the nuts and sugar. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until the pudding has puffed up and is light brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes-the pudding will sink as it sits; that's OK. Serve immediately, or reheat before serving.

BREAD PUDDING WITH WARM BOURBON SAUCE

Steps:

• Butter 8-inch square baking dish. Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Place bread and pecans in prepared dish. Pour milk mixture over and let stand 5 minutes. Push down bread into custard. Refrigerate 2 hours, pushing bread into custard occasionally.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Place bread pudding in large metal baking pan. Add enough boiling water to baking pan to come 1 inch up sides of dish with bread pudding. Bake until pudding is puffed and golden brown on top, approximately 50 minutes. Remove dish with bread pudding from water and cool slightly. Cut into squares. Serve bread pudding warm with sauce.

BANANA BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Place the bread cubes in a greased 2-qt. casserole; pour butter over top and toss to coat. In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs; add milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in bananas. , Pour over bread cubes and stir to coat. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for about 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. , Meanwhile, for sauce, melt butter in a small saucepan. Combine sugar and cornstarch; add to butter. Stir in milk and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture comes to a full boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; stir in the vanilla. Serve warm sauce over warm pudding.