Cooking Around the Calendar

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Bananas Foster Bread Pudding in a baby carriage.

Bananas Foster, served tableside with a towering inferno of rum soaked flames, is not only a decadent dessert, but also a great bit of theatre. But what if you’re throwing a party? I can’t quite imagine preparing a dozen pans of flaming bananas for a crowd. The beauty of the combo of Bananas Foster and Bread Pudding is that you can prepare a batch for a large crowd, and still give them that flambéed flavor.

Both of these desserts have a long history in the city of New Orleans.

The Bananas Foster is a relative newcomer. It was created in 1951 at Brennan’s Restaurant in the French Quarter. At the time, New Orleans was a major U.S. port of entry for bananas, so they were plentiful. Add in the fact that Brennan’s owner’s brother owned a produce company, and a flaming banana dessert seems inevitable.

Bread Pudding has been a staple New Orleans dish since the city was founded. Historically it was a “poverty pudding” that creole home cooks made to utilize stale French style bread. It’s long since moved away from it’s humble origins; by the late 20th century, you could find fancy bread pudding on the menus of many upscale restaurants.

The fusion of these two dishes seems like a natural step in dessert evolution. Today, Bananas Foster Bread Pudding is a staple on the Jazz Brunch menus of New Orleans.

Today, I’m sharing with you my mother’s recipe for Bananas Foster Bread Pudding. She has made it for many of our Mardi Gras themed parties. While the guests don’t get to see the fancy flambé of the bananas, they get all the flavor delivered right to their plate. It’s best served warm with either vanilla ice cream, or with a dollop of rum whipped cream.

Bananas Foster Bread Pudding

This decadent dessert combines bread pudding with bananas foster.

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Course: Brunch, Dessert

Cuisine: American, Creole

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Bananas Foster

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar firmly packed
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 cup rum

Bread Pudding

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 large croissants crumbled
• 3 large slices of sourdough bread crumbled
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Method

 

Bananas Foster

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, over low heat. Add the brown sugar and the molasses to the butter, and simmer for 5 minutes stirring frequently.
2. Peel the bananas and cut them lengthwise. Add the bananas, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla bean paste to the pan. Turn the heat up a little, to medium low. Cook for one minute, and then flip the bananas over and cook one more minute.
3. Add the rum to the pan, and carefully set it on fire. Allow to flame for around 40 seconds. Once the alcohol cooks off, the flames will die down on their own.
4. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Bread Pudding

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and brown sugar. Next, add the vanilla bean paste, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, and whisk until the mixture is fully incorporated.
3. Add the croissants and bread to the egg mixture and gently stir.
4. Going back to the bananas foster; slice the banana halves into bite sized pieces, and then fold the bananas and caramelized sauce into the bread pudding mixture.
5. Pour the mixture into an 8×8 glass baking dish and dot the top with butter. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Best served warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. For an extra rum kick, add a 1/2 teaspoon of rum to the whipping cream.

Notes

Please be extra cautious when flaming the rum. Make sure you don’t have anything easily flammable nearby, such as paper towels or napkins. If you have long hair, it should be tied back, and don’t wear loose flowing clothing. Most importantly, you should always have a fire extinguisher handy in your kitchen.

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