Banana-Bread Bread Pudding

I'll get a better picture tomorrow.

No, there's not a mistake in the title. It's Bread Pudding with chunks of Banana Bread! My latest creation, and it turned out so yummy, we had it for dinner. (okay, we also had other things for dinner, but it really was good)

The unwanted heels of banana bread.

The idea of this dessert came from the problem of dealing with the heels of bread. I make a batch of banana bread or pumpkin bread, and no one wants the heels. They're dry and sometimes a little overcooked. So I started saving the heels and storing them in zippy bags in the freezer. The idea is that once I save up enough, the weather cools down from this intense heat, and I find bread on the discount rack at the grocery, I'll use it to make bread pudding. So happens, that these three events occurred this week.

I've reduced the size of the recipe I actually cooked, because chances are that you are not cooking for the small hoard I live with. I don't think you really need 15 lbs of pudding!

Banana-Bread Bread Pudding Recipe with Grand Marnier and Rum Sauce

Bread Pudding Ingredients

• 3/4 pound stale bread
• 1/4 pound banana bread heels (that's the heels from about 1 loaf)
• 4 eggs
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 butter (1 stick), melted
• 3 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 TBSP cinnamon
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Bread Pudding Instructions

Slice both the stale bread and the banana bread heels into small 1/2" by 1/2" chunks.  Remember, the banana bread is more dense than regular bread. It will look like you have much more normal bread than banana bread. (Of course, you'll have much less than this. I'm working with 2 1/2 pounds of bread here.) Once sliced, set the bread aside.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Make sure that an oven rack is in the middle. Grease a 9" by 13" baking pan. I also lay a piece of baking parchment on the bottom for easier removal. Put a little grease on that too.

Break the eggs into a very large mixing bowl and whisk a bit in order to break the yolks. Add the bananas, butter, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. (I'm assuming that they are already melted, mashed and otherwise prepared.)

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, mix on medium until well blended. It should look like the picture on the left.

Now you're going to add the breads and nuts. Think of this process as a layering, like when you make a trifle or 7 layer dip, only here you're repeating.  On top of the liquidy stuff add a layer of bread (a few handfuls), a layer of banana bread and a sprinkling of nuts. 

Then using the whisk, dunk it into the gelatinous goo. Keep repeating until you run out of bread and nuts, trying to pace yourself so that each layer will have some of each. Then swish it around the goo and let it sit a minute to absorb some.

For this next part, I use gloves since I hate scrubbing raw egg out from under my nails. Using your hands really is the easiest way to do it. With gloved hands, grab handfuls of the gooey bread and place it in your prepared pan. It will puff up a little while baking, but not much.

The top one has been used, the bottom one has not. It's about done.

Cook on the middle rack for an hour to an hour plus 15 minutes. You'll know it's done when you insert a toothpick and it comes out without gooey chunks sticking to it (see right).

Meanwhile, while the pudding is in the oven, let's start on the sauce.

Grand Marnier and Rum Sauce Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Grand Marnier (or other liqueur)
• 1/4 cup dark rum
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

 Grand Marnier and Rum Sauce Directions

In a medium sauce pan, put all of the ingredients but the butter. Simmer on low for about 45 minutes, until you can no longer taste the alcohol. Of course, if kids aren't eating it, you can stop simmering whenever you want. It will be a lovely amber color. DO NOT let it boil. You don't want your sauce reaching any kind of ball stage.

Remove it from the heat and add the butter, giving it a stir until it melts. Let it cool.

Bread pudding, like cheesecake, is best if given time to sit, like overnight. But I admit, this stuff was pretty darn good right out of the oven.  I'm hoping there is some left for Friday when we're having friends over for dinner.