Banana Bread Pudding with Brown Butter
Gautreau’s, New Orleans, LA
Rob Mitchell of Gautreau’s in New Orleans finished off his six-course meal at the Beard House with a bang. His unique bread pudding recipe rivals every popular New Orleans bistro version. It is so rich that the “accompanying” brown butter appears in the pan after the pudding has baked—now that’s a sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 pound day-old sourdough bread, cubed with crusts left on
- 5 cups milk
- 1/2 cup light, packed brown sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 large bananas, sliced thin (about 2 1/2 cups)
Method
In a small pot, heat milk over low heat with brown sugar until steam rises off the top. Watch carefully, as milk tends to boil over when heated.
Meanwhile, in a medium-size bowl, whisk the eggs and the yolks with the granulated sugar. When the milk is hot, slowly temper it into the egg mixture by adding 1 cup of the hot milk to the eggs. When they are combined, slowly add the rest of the milk, whisking continuously so the eggs do not cook.
When the mixture is thoroughly combined, pour it over the cubed bread and let the pudding stand for 30 minutes, periodically folding the mixture to ensure even absorption of the liquid.
Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, honey, and bananas to the bread mixture. Pour into a 2-inch-deep pan, cover with foil, and bake at 250ºF for 1 hour. Turn the oven up to 400ºF, remove the foil, and crisp and brown the top for 10 minutes. Serve hot or cold.
Yield
20 servings
