Is there anything more comforting than a warm bowl of bread pudding? I think not! Our Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding is not only tasty, but it’s also a great way to use up stale bread and bananas that are a bit past their prime.
I still remember the first time I ever laid eyes on bread pudding; we were at a dinner party hosted by my husband’s college ro ommate. It was a small little gathering and our beloved host cooked up some pretty fabulous dishes for us that night. The most memorable on the menu was his Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding served with homemade Toasted Coconut Ice Cream. Even now, I drool just thinking about it.
Ever since that evening, I’ve been in love with this humble little dessert. Bread pudding is a great way to use up leftover bread, and since I truly hate wasting food, this dessert is just perfect for me. I like mine with a hint of banana flavor, but if bananas aren’t your thing, feel free to omit them.
BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD PUDDING
Ingredients:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup skim milk
- ¼ cup butter
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 8 oz French bread (approx. 3 cups)
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- Sprinkling of cinnamon sugar on top
Directions:
Step 1: Grease a 1 ½ quart casserole pan. Heat oven to 350°F.
Step 2: Heat the heavy cream and milk in a large saucepan until milk begins to simmer and a slight film forms on top.
Step 3: Place butter into a large bowl. Add hot milk and stir until butter is completely melted. Set aside to cool.
Step 4: In a separate bowl, mash the bananas with a potato masher, or fork. Combine bananas with sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Beat with a mixer until blended.
Step 5: Add milk mixture to sugar mixture. Blend well.
Step 6: Rip, or cut, French bread into small pieces, and add to casserole dish. Sprinkle bread pieces with chocolate chips.
Step 7: Pour batter over bread pieces. Allow bread to soak up batter for approximately 20 minutes. Gently press bread pieces back into the batter every few minutes.
Step 8: Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes until the middle is set. (If you like a mushy bread pudding, remove yours from the oven earlier. I like my crispy and browned on top.) Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Happy Reading!
Denine
Want to see even more of our favorite family desserts? Check out some of these:
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganche
Delicious! My family ate all of it in one night! This has officially replaced my traditional bread pudding recipe! Don’t think twice…try it!
Awww, thanks Debby! It’s one of our favorites too and we never have leftovers! Thanks for giving our recipe a shot and we’re so happy you liked it!
I made this recipe tonight’s drift came out great. When do we add the heavy cream? I realized I followed the recipe and there was no mention of when to add the heavy cream. Is it part of the milk mixture?
Thanks?
Hi CJ! Sorry about the confusion – you should add the heavy cream in the first step, along with the milk.
What a lovely looking bread pudding. Sounds like delicious comfort food. I have a new linky on my blog called “Sweets for a Saturday” and I’d like to invite you to stop by and link this up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/01/sweets-for-saturday-1_21.html
Thanks for the kind words!
Your bread pudding looks fantastic! I agree that it’s one of the most versatile dishes around, which is why I’m hosing a Bread Pudding of the Month Club on my blog, showing new flavors every month, and eventually (even soon perhaps) I may invite other bloggers to share their bread pudding creations as well, and then post a roundup, so keep your eyes peeled!!