Harpie’s Goodie Basket A recipe repository for those tasty cookies, cakes, breads, bars and other desserts you’ve come to enjoy during the holidays—and beyond

Caramel Banana Bread Pudding

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Overripe bananas aren’t just for banana bread anymore. Richly decadent, this bread pudding is a great way to use those browning lumps in the freezer.

My recipe was based on a popular dessert at California eatery Cafe 14, adapted by LA Times’ food writer Noelle Carter . I’ve adapted it further to use a banana bread base, since I always seem to have plenty of my homemade whole-wheat banana bread readily available—plus it’s hard to say no to more banana.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 cups lightly packed (13 ounces) brown sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas (overripe is preferred), peeled and coarsely mashed
• 6 cups banana bread, cut into cubes
• 2 cups bread, cut into cubes (see notes)
• 3 eggs

Preparation

1. Melt butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, stirring constantly until dissolved. Add heavy cream, vanilla and salt and stir frequently until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
2. In the meantime, in a large mixing bowl, toss the bananas with banana bread and other bread until thoroughly combined.
3. Once caramel cream has cooled, whisk in the eggs then pour over the bread mixture and toss gently. Cover and refrigerate to soak and let the flavors combine, about 45 minutes to an hour.
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove pudding mixture from refrigerator and pour into small (about two-quart) rectangular baking dish, then let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Place the smaller baking dish into a larger baking dish and fill the bottom of the larger dish with enough boiling water come halfway up the sides of the smaller one.
5. Bake until set, about 45 minutes. Remove from water bath and cool slightly before serving.

Notes

• Depending on flavor and texture preference, the secondary bread can vary. The banana bread already contains a lot of spices, so light-flavored bread may be preferred. Hardier breads like sandwich breads tend to hold their form; flaky breads like French bread or croissants tend to dissolve more into the pudding.

Yields 9-12 servings