Raisin Banana Pudding with Vanilla Sauce and Caramelized Bananas

Haha that title was a mouthful. So darn happy it's the weekend! I've been working for 11 years now (on and off) but I'm still amazed that I can make it through a 5-day work-week hehehe.

Anyway, back to the recipe... I baked "Raisin Banana Pudding with Vanilla Sauce and Caramelized Bananas" for our weekend staycation tomorrow. Let's just say the universe conspired and the stars aligned that we ended up with extra money to allow ourselves to stay for a night at Marina Bay Sands Hotel :-) In true filipino fashion, we wanted to make "baon" to save up on money and also to allow us to maximize our stay in the room hehe.

I actually combined recipes from Oprah's low-fat Raisin Banana Pudding Recipe and AllRecipe's Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce, and modified the recipe a bit.

The ingredients are as follows:

For the Pudding:
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 Tbsps light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 cups skim milk
1 whole batard cereal loaf, cut into cubes
1 cup raisins

For the Vanilla Sauce:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 egg
2 Tbsps butter
1 1/4 cups skim milk
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Caramelized Bananas:
1 Tbsp butter
3 medium bananas, cut into slices crosswise
4 Tbsps light brown sugar

It's the first time I actually baked bread pudding and I tell you it was as easy as pie :-) Seriously, you don't even need a mixer, just a whisk will do.

I did the bananas first so I can set them aside. Pretty simple - just cook the bananas in butter, brown them a bit, take them off the heat then add the brown sugar.

Super yummy but uber sinful as well :-P

Slice the bread into cubes...

Just whisk all the ingredients for the pudding...

Prepare your baking pans while the bread soaks the liquid mixture. I used a non-stick pan and a silicon pan but I still used baking parchment paper to make it easier to pull out the pudding when cooked.

Vanilla sauce was also a walk in the park hehe. Just simmer all the vanilla sauce ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat and whisk until thick (around 10-12 mins).

Taaadddaaaa!!!

Finished product after baking for approximately 50 mins with 190 degrees Celsius temperature.

After the pudding cools down a bit, you can spread the vanilla sauce and caramelized bananas or set them aside if you prefer. I was lazy and just dumped everything on top anyway bread pudding isn't meant to remain crispy. There you go!