Choco-Banana Bread Pudding

Aside from lava cake, my go-to dessert recipe of choice is bread pudding. It's such a versatile dessert and even after a few days in the fridge, still delicious, even cold. In fact, I'm going to get me a ladleful right now! Pair it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, or go over and top with a whiskey sauce, it'll be a great way to finish any dinner. Pass the Tums!!

Recipe
1 loaf of egg bread (Challah or brioche work best)
2 cups half and half
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 ounces good semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 very ripe bananas
pinch salt



The star ingredient of this dessert is, well, the bread, of course. In my experience, challah, brioche and croissants work the best. They are soft and porous, yet has enough body that they won't disintegrate in the custard. Buy the bread 2-3 days ahead of time, if possible. The drier the bread, the more cream it'll soak up. Cut the bread into large cubes ahead of time, around 1 inch in size, and let it all hang out. The extra surface area will accelerate the drying. And for you relapsing carbo-holics such as myself, don't get high off your own supply and RESIST!! Sneaking a cube is acceptable, well, maybe two... OK, three, but no more!!

So tempting!

I bought some pretty green bananas around two weeks ago. Similar to banana bread, you want the bananas to be very ripe. How do you know when it's very ripe? Well, when you think the banana is pushing pass the stage where it looks edible, wait a few more days; when the stem is is starting to grow the fuzzy stuff, we're almost there; when the bananas are almost entirely black and the fruit flies are circling, BINGO!! I won't show you the banana peels (don't want you to call the health department on me), but it's only at that stage that you get the full aroma of the fertility-symbols. You'll even score a slight whiskey flavor because the sugars are on the cusp of converting to alcohol. Mush up the bananas with a fork and set aside.

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

We proceed on to making the custard. Heat the cream, half & half, vanilla and salt over medium heat. We want to scald the milk, but make sure it doesn't boil. It's vital to be patient and slowly bring the cream up to temperature so it doesn't burn and ruin the batch. Remember how a watched pot never boils? Well, watch this pot!! Make sure to stir the mixture from time to time so the fats/proteins don't settle on the bottom and burn. When you see medium sized bubbles start to emerge on the edge of the pot, remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips. Keep whisking until the chocolate melts into the cream. 

Chocolate milk!

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs. It's faster to use an electric mixer, but mixing by hand is just fine. We're not trying to whip up a meringue here. We temper the cream into the egg and sugar by slowly pouring one ladle of the chocolate mixture into the eggs. Make sure to whisk the eggs strenuously while doing so. Repeat the procedure two more times with more cream. The reason we go through all this trouble is so the hot cream doesn't scramble the eggs if we bring the temperature of the eggs up bit by bit. After three ladles of the cream has been added, slowly pour the egg and cream mixture concoction into the pot with the rest of the cream. Mix until combined. Stir in the mashed bananas.

One ladle at a time

This is how you make custard

Toss the bread cubes into the custard mixture. Using a large spatula, push the bread cubes down (they are floaters) until all the bread are submerged. Let the bread soak for around an hour or two for best results. Gingerly stir the mixture half way through (don't want to break up the cubes too much and turn it into mush) so the bread up top get some sousing time down under. Preheat the oven to 350º. Pour the bread pudding into a large baking dish. Slide the baking rack to the lowest rung and slide in a large baking dish filled with hot water. One notch up, slide in another baking rack and place the bread pudding dish atop. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving so the custard has time to set.

Soak, my babies	Baking in water bath
All done!	The money shot

Reflections
The bread pudding turned out so rich and creamy. I think the next time, I'll simplify the flavor profile and only use either chocolate or banana, but not both. The dessert is so sumptuous, too many ingredients might overwhelm the palate. Instead of chocolate chips, you might also try Nutella to make a hazelnut chocolate pudding. Or coffee/Kahlúa mix? You get the idea. Using the base, play around to create your signature dessert.