banana caramel bread pudding

this banana bread pudding is like banana bread on crack!! originally i'd found a recipe on foodgawker.com for bananas foster bread pudding. but considering i don't particularly love alcohol and would never buy a whole bottle of rum just for one recipe, i decided to change it up a little bit. to replace the "fosters" part of it i just used a caramel sauce and sliced bananas. i'd already had caramel sauce from a mistake batch of salted caramels, so that made the swap pretty easy. if i were you i'd head out today to buy a bunch of bananas to ripen. after a few days make this bread pudding and sit with a happy tummy.

banana caramel bread pudding


ingredients: 


3 eggs plus 2 egg yolks
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 c ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1 3/4 c heavy whipping cream
1 large stale french bread loaf

directions:


1. in a large bowl whisk all eggs together until frothy
2. add in cinnamon, vanilla and ripe bananas and mix until fully incorporated
3. add sugars in and mix until fully incorporated
4. add heavy whipping cream and mix until fully incorporated
5. cut up french bread in to 1 inch cubes and mix in to egg mixture until evenly distributed and most of the liquid is soaked
6. put bread pudding mixture in to a casserole dish and allow to soak for about 30 min
7. preheat oven to 350 degrees F
8. cook bread pudding for about 1 hr or until the middle is set
9. slice and serve with caramel sauce and sliced bananas.

easy caramel sauce:


ingredients:
5 tbs unsalted butter
1c heavy cream
1 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 c corn syrup
1/4 c water

directions: 
1. heat sugar, corn syrup and water in a pot on medium high heat, swirling until the mixture becomes a nice amber color
2. add heavy cream, butter and salt and stir. the mixture will bubble violently but this is normal. keep on heat for about 3 minutes then pour in to a heat safe container (glass jar is best) to cool.

***if you are impatient like me and you can't wait for green bananas to ripen, go to an asian store to find bananas. they almost always will have ripe bananas, and they're probably cheaper too!

***again, if you're impatient like me and don't have stale bread on hand, buy a new loaf of bread, cut it up in to 1 inch cubes and toast in a toaster oven for a few minutes until the exterior is slightly crisp. it works exactly the same as stale bread.