Yum Yum: Dark Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding

I live in Dallas and we have a city magazine called D Magazine.  Each year, they come out with the “best of”.  While I was voting for them, I jotted down the desserts that were in the running and decided it would be a good starting place for me to make some deserts that were out of my comfort level.

Doing just a regular google search, I didn’t find a recipe that I thought was great.  Then I looked at Emeril Lagasse’s White Chocolate banana Bread pudding and just but put in dark chocolate instead of white.  I also purchased the sauce instead of making it to save some time.

White Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding

·         4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tablespoons room temperature
·         4 large eggs, lightly beaten
·         1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
·         3 cups heavy cream
·         1 cup milk
·         1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
·         1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
·         1 cup dried cherries  (I left these out)
·         6 cups day-old bread cubes (1/2-inch)
·         6 ounces white chocolate, chopped
·         2 ripe bananas, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
·         2 tablespoons dark rum
·         2 tablespoons banana liqueur
·         Chocolate Sauce, recipe follows
·         Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
·         Powdered sugar, for garnish
Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brush a 14-inch oval baking dish with 2 tablespoons of butter. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, 1 cup brown sugar, cream, and milk. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, cherries, bread, and chocolate, and stir to blend thoroughly.
• Set a 10-inch saute pan over medium-high heat and add the 2 tablespoons of the room temperature butter to the pan; once melted, add the diced bananas to the pan and saute for 3 minutes. Add the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar to the pan and saute until the sugar is melted, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the rum and banana liqueur to the pan. Return the pan to the heat and ignite the alcohol. Once the flames die out, fold the bananas into the bread pudding base. Stir the remaining 2 tablespoons butter into the mixture and pour into the baking dish.
• Bake until firm, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on rack until just warm. Place a square of the pudding down on the plate, with a scoop of the Drunken Monkey Ice Cream. Drizzle the Chocolate Sauce over the ice cream and bread pudding and garnish with the mint leaves and powdered sugar.

Chocolate Sauce (I bought this instead of made):
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a small, heavy saucepan, bring the cream to a bare simmer over low heat. Place the chocolate pieces in a medium bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk in the vanilla and continue whisking until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Let the sauce cool to room temperature before serving.


My father-in-law now says that I have to make this every time he comes in town.