Bánh Chuối Nướng (Banana Bread Pudding)

Why is it so hard to keep the right number of bananas around in the right state of ripeness? It should be simple banana math, really. Somehow though, I invariably either end up bananaless or with a blackened fruit-fly attracting bunch. What's a girl to do?

Banana bread would seem to be the obvious answer for the overripe ones but lately, I've been craving dessert.

The Vietnamese restaurant a half-mile from my house makes an amazing banana bread pudding or bánh chuối nướng, which they hawk on a giant blackboard of specials. While I savor my pork spring rolls and delight in my mango chicken, it calls to me... and then, just before the check comes, I cave.

"Oh, could I get an order of the banana bread pudding in a to-go box, please?" I ask the server, fooling nobody. Never has this dessert made it out to the car in anything but my stomach.

I baked my own version today and was extremely satisfied with the results. It's a moist, delicious dessert comprised of bananas alternating with creamy coconut milk-soaked bread, a nod to it's eastern origins. After baking, a sprinkle of sugar and a couple minutes under the broiler yield a topping of caramelized banana bliss.

I served mine with a simple sauce made of coconut milk sweetened with powdered sugar thinned slightly with skim milk (not shown in my picture above.) This dessert can be served hot, cold or reheated. I got the recipe from Flavor Boulevard.

Bánh Chuối Nướng (Banana Bread Pudding)

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of banana
• Rum
• 1.5 loaves of old stale sandwich bread
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• butter (to grease the pan)
• 1 tbs vanilla (optional)

The original recipe called for an 8-inch pan. I halved the above recipe and still used an 8x8 pan along with one mini loaf pan for the extra pieces of bread. Grease the pan(s).

Bananas
Slice the bananas at a slight angle and mix with rum if you like.

Bread
Trim off the crust, dip the bread slices into a mixture of milk, coconut milk, beaten eggs, sugar and vanilla. Squeeze the bread between your palms to remove some of the liquid they soaked up. This is an important step, the dessert will be dry if too much liquid is removed, and fall apart if it’s too wet.

Layering
Alternate 1 layer of bread, 1 layer of banana, another layer of bread, etc. until reaching the rim of the pan. End with bananas. Firmly and evenly press the layers down as you go so that the baked cake won’t be too spongy or crumbly.

Bake at 350F until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. For caramelization, just after baking, sprinkle sugar over the top layer of bananas and place on the highest oven rack under the broiler for a couple minutes. Watch closely and remove when slightly browned.