Mother's Day Brunch: Three Ways to Make Bread Pudding

Planning a Mother's Day Brunch menu may be a bit intimidating because, after all, this is for mom, one of the most important people in the world and probably your first cooking teacher. Surprise mom and your other brunch diners with several varieties of an old classic breakfast recipe - bread pudding.

Banana Bread Pudding Recipe

An ordinary bread pudding recipe uses a typical loaf of store or bakery bought bread. When I first saw a link to a banana bread pudding, I wondered how a quick bread would taste in a bread pudding recipe. After reading further, I realized the recipes were for a bread pudding with bananas, not one made with banana bread. Since the thought had crossed my mind though, I had to try it just to see the results. My taste-test didn't end positively and I would not recommend using dense banana bread for bread pudding since it doesn't absorb the pudding the way other breads do. It's definitely not what you want to experiment with on Mother's Day. If the idea appeals to you though, you may try making your own white bread with mashed bananas added for the flavor without losing the texture.

Banana Bread Pudding made with pieces of the fruit is worthy of a spot on your brunch menu in honor of Mom. Here's a recipe for the special occasion.

Banana Bread Pudding Ingredients

1 loaf bread (1 lb. size) - your choice of white, French, challah, cinnamon
1 stick margarine or butter (8 tbsp.)
1 2/3 cup milk
1 2/3 cup heavy cream
6 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
8 tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
6 bananas, sliced into 1/4 to 1/3 inch circles

Instructions for Banana Bread Pudding

Grease a 9-inch X 13-inch casserole dish with 1-tbsp. butter or margarine.
Using 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter, lightly coat each slice of bread.
Overlap layers of bread slices in the casserole dish.
Whip eggs, 4-tbsp. brown sugar and the granulated sugar with a fork or whisk.
Add milk, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to the egg mixture. Pour over the bread and cover with foil, pressing the foil into the bread so the liquid is absorbed. Refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, slice the bananas. Melt 6-tbsp. margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Cook bananas until golden brown.
Add 4-tbsp. brown sugar and cook until the sugar melts, glazing the bananas.
Remove casserole from refrigerator. Lift foil carefully and slide glazed banana pieces in between the bread slices, pressing them into the dish. Bread may be soft and using a toothpick to push them may be necessary.
Recover the dish and place in cold oven. Set oven to 350°F and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes. Test for doneness with a knife in the center. If the bread is not runny, the pudding is done.

If you don't have time for the overnight soak you can adapt the recipe by adding the banana slices between the bread pieces before pouring the milk mixture in the dish. If you do this, preheat your oven to 350°F before starting preparation.

French Toast Bread Pudding Recipe

When you bake cinnamon rolls, just double the batch so you are sure to have enough leftover for this recipe.

Ingredients
8 to 10 leftover cinnamon rolls
2 tbsp. softened butter
1 2/3 cup milk
1 2/3 cup heavy cream
6 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp. light corn syrup

Instructions

Reserve last three ingredients for making sauce.
Grease a 9-inch X 13-inch casserole dish with 2-tbsp. softened butter,
Cut cinnamon rolls into four pieces each.
Mix milk, cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt.
Pour over cinnamon rolls.
Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight, if desired. In the morning, remove foil and preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan and heat on medium-high until the mixture is bubbly. Pour over bread.
Bake the bread pudding for 40 minutes uncovered.

How to Make Chocolate Bread Pudding
For the chocolate lovers of the world, chocolate bread pudding can be made from cocoa, unsweetened chocolate squares or even chocolate syrup. The syrup version is simple yet crowd-pleasing.

Ingredients
10 ounces chocolate syrup (used to make chocolate milk)
1 loaf white bread with crust removed
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
4 eggs

Instructions
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Spray or grease a 9-inch X 13-inch casserole dish.
Break bread into cubes about 1-inch in size.
Beat eggs with milk, cream and syrup. Pour over bread pieces.
Allow the bread to soak the liquid in for at least 30 minutes.

If your time is short and you need to bake before all the liquid is absorbed, stir the mixture after 15 minutes of cooking to incorporate remaining liquid.
Bake 45 minutes or until the casserole is brown around the edges and a knife in the center comes out clean.

Sources:
Personal recipes developed through trial and error
Original recipes before my personal adaptations:

Country Living: "Banana Bread Pudding"
Good Morning America Recipe: "French Toast Bread Pudding with Spiced Pears"; Cheryl Hofmann and Emeril Lagasse; Nov. 2005