Tuesday 25 January 2011

Chocolate and Banana Panettone Bread Pudding

"You can't smell a hug.  You can't hear a cuddle.  But if you could, I reckon it would smell and sound of warm bread-and-butter pudding" Nigel Slater in Toast, the story of a boy's hunger.

I love bread and butter pudding.  It's homey, indulgent and comforting.  I know some people are put off by its texture, but I love the soft gooey interior beneath the golden crust.  And I need well-chilled cream or custard to serve.

This recipe is inspired by a wonderful dessert blogger friend of mine, Rick at Bittersweet.  When I saw his post, banana bread pudding with strawberry sauce, I know it just makes sense.  Banana and strawberry are a match made in fruit heaven.

In my version, as if bread pudding isn't indulgent enough, I add chocolate by using chocolate panettone as the base.  Chocolate and banana, come one, you know this is gonna be delicious. Panettone is my favourite bread and you get beautiful flavours right from the start; but any nice soft eggy bread like brioche or challah will be great too.  Just add chocolate chips to the mixture.  I ditched the strawberry sauce and stick to the traditional, good-old double cream which I will regret tomorrow at the gym (live today worry tomorrow?).


Chocolate and Banana Panettone Bread Pudding
Recipe by Me
Serves 2

250 g chocolate panettone, cut into rough cubes (or use any bread of your choice and add 150 g chocolate chips)
150 ml whole milk
125 ml double cream
2 eggs
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 banana, sliced
Butter
Well-chilled double cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180 C.  Grease a small pie dish with butter.  Arrange a layer of the panettone, followed by slices of banana and top with the rest of the panettone.

In a bowl, mix the milk, cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla.  Pour this over the bread slowly and leave to stand for  10 minutes.  Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the custard has just set and the top is golden.

OK, enough said. I have bread pudding to attend to, so please excuse me... dessert for dinner... yum.

14 comments:

  1. I love bread pudding too! And chocolate and banana :)

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  2. I tried my first bread pudding a couple months ago and absolutely loved it! I haven't made my own yet but I'm definitely looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Divine! I made my own banana loaf once, then let it go stale and then made b&b pudding with it... divine! Just like a hug x

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  4. Whoaaa there. You added chocolate panettone to the mix :) You certainly know how to bring comfort food to the table with one big fat hug don't you. Excellent..., even more in awe of your cooking skills now :)

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  5. I've never been a fan of bread pudding...but Michael...you make it sound so inviting and delicious! Plus...you added chocolate panettone...that makes everything better, doesn't it???

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  6. Hi Michael, this looks SO GOOD!! I'll be trying it this weekend, I've done bread and butter pud with brioche, but never panettone, such a good idea.

    Thank you for following, and leaving your lovely comment, my first ever!! I'm a little bit in love with Nigella too, so we have something in common there..

    Thanks for the inspiration, Alex x

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  7. Wow, I think you hit every craving I could possible have all rolled into one delicious bread pudding. Lovely!

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  8. Love the flavor combo here...looks fantastic too!

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  9. I am one the people who absolutely love this texture. This would be exactly what a hug would feel like, if you could eat it.

    Velva

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  10. I cried all the way through Toast - and now I want to cry because I wish I was eating this pudding! Michael, you're a genius!

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  11. Michael-I love, love the chocolate Panettone for the bread pudding, especially with the addition of the banana slices.
    There's no way we can find the chocolate Panettone here, so I would have to settle for the regular, and add cocoa powder to it.
    Wow! You did your own creation...move aside, Nigella!!!

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  12. I love bread pudding, I love banana bread and i love chocolate. yum...this looks great!

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  13. I'm so glad you tried it! Yours looks amazing with the panettone. But now I'm curious about what song is stuck in your head.

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  14. Michael, this looks sensational! I think I still have some brioche in the freezer that I can use for the recipe.

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