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Banana chocolate bread pudding with banana almond crème anglaiseAsim Overstands

Colder weather calls for comfort foods. The soft, warm texture of moist bread is one of my favourite mouth feels, and chocolate and banana is a classic pairing of flavours. This banana crème anglaise recipe mimics the taste of banana bread with an added creamy, runny texture that takes it from breakfast food to after-dinner dessert.

Leftover or slightly stale bread is ideal for this dish, as the bread will soak up the milk and cream making it moist and flavourful again. I use this recipe often at Market restaurant in different variations, so feel free to play with the accompanying flavours. The ratio of liquid and eggs to bread makes for a velvety, moist bread pudding, regardless of the flavours you choose to work with.

If you make this at home, take a picture and post it on Instagram. Tag me (@seanymacd) on your pictures so I can see your creations.

Servings: 6

Bread pudding

12 cups leftover bread (brioche buns or croissants are best), ripped into pieces

1 cup chocolate chips

2 bananas, chopped

2 cups chocolate milk

200 mL cream

5 eggs

4 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

Banana almond milk

400 mL almond milk

1 banana, whole

Banana almond crème anglaise

6 egg yolks

2 cups almond banana milk

1 teaspoon vanilla bean

3 tablespoons sugar

Method

Bread pudding

Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter a 10x10-inch cake pan on the sides and bottom (or use parchment paper). Make sure to use a cake pan that has edges at least 2 to 3 inches high.

Place half of the ripped bread in the cake pan to create the first layer. Sprinkle half of the chocolate chips and banana evenly on top of the bread. Repeat this process, placing the rest of the bread, chocolate chips and banana evenly on top of the first layer.

In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Mix well with a whisk or a hand blender and ensure the eggs are completely mixed. Pour the liquid over the bread. Cut a piece of parchment paper the size of the cake pan and place it on top of the soaked bread. Push down slightly on the parchment paper to ensure the liquid covers and soaks into all of the bread, then discard. Leave the bread to sit for at least 15 minutes to soak up all of the liquid.

After 15 minutes, cover the pan with tin foil and place it in the oven, setting a timer for 40 minutes. When the timer goes off, take the tin foil off the bread pudding, but leave the dish in the oven to cook for another 30 minutes. After 30 minutes have passed, all of the liquid should be cooked into the bread. If there is still too much liquid, put it back in the oven uncovered for a few more minutes. Once finished, either serve immediately or leave in the fridge to chill until serving. This can be made up to three days prior to serving.

Banana almond milk

Place a ripe banana with the almond milk in a blender (the riper the banana, the sweeter the flavour). Blend on high for approximately two minutes until completely pureed and smooth. Pour into a container and reserve.

Banana almond crème anglaise

Place the egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl.

In a small sauce pot, combine all remaining ingredients. Place the pot on the stove over medium heat. Heat the mixture, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot

to ensure the banana doesn’t cook and stick to the pot. Once the mixture reaches a high simmer, remove from heat.

Gradually pour the hot mixture over the egg yolks, about a tablespoon at a time. Using a whisk, stir the liquid into the eggs. (This is called tempering, a process of slowly increasing the temperature of eggs without scrambling them. This allows you to combine two liquids that are different temperatures without altering the texture of the final product. If you do this too quickly, by adding too much hot liquid to the eggs, you will end up cooking the eggs and splitting the mixture.) Once you have gradually added slightly more than half of the hot mixture into the eggs, pour the egg mixture into the hot liquid. Switch to using a spatula to stir in order to reduce the amount of air you mix into the liquid. Serve the anglaise immediately while it is still warm.

To finish

Cut the bread pudding into portions for plating, or serve out of the pan. Pour the warm anglaise over the bread pudding to serve. You can add more garnishes as you feel necessary. I love to serve this dish with rough chopped walnuts and caramel cream cheese mousse. Whipped cream would also work well with this dish.

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