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This Bananas Foster Croissant Bread Pudding is a marriage between two tantalizing desserts (bread pudding and Banana’s Foster) that your tastebuds will adore!

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This New Orleans inspired Bananas Foster Croissant Bread Pudding with caramel sauce is as delicious as it is decadent. Here's how to make this Food + Words original.

This recipe is studded with heavy cream, dark rum, banana liqueur, vanilla… Seriously, these babies will make you go bananas.

If you’re anything like me, you should already be wearing your comfiest yoga pants because this recipe is as decadent as it is addictive. You’ve been warned.

Bananas Foster Croissant Bread Pudding!

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As someone who has never been to New Orleans (on my bucket list) but has seen and heard about all the great things New Orleans has to offer including being the birthplace of bananas foster, it’s only fitting that you get the 411 about this Bananas Foster Croissant Bread Pudding.

And even if you consider yourself a giving person you might have a hard time sharing this bread pudding with anyone at all. But when you do share this dessert with people, you’ll become their bff for life.

This New Orleans inspired Bananas Foster Croissant Bread Pudding with caramel sauce is as delicious as it is decadent. Here's how to make this Food + Words original.

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And if you decide to keep the entire pudding for yourself, you’re in luck. Leggings and yoga dress pants are the new norm.

And even if you can’t stand bananas, give this recipe a try. The generous amounts of heavy cream, dark rum, caramel and croissants will change your mind. Don’t believe me? Try it!

This New Orleans inspired Bananas Foster Croissant Bread Pudding with caramel sauce is as delicious as it is decadent. Here's how to make this Food + Words original.

Rather than creating the sauce as the traditional bananas foster dictates (sauteed bananas in brown sugar), create this bananas foster caramel sauce.

Your life will never be the same again. This mouth-watering caramel sauce is exactly what the thick and decadent croissant bread pudding deserves.

You either go big or go home 🙂

This New Orleans inspired Bananas Foster Croissant Bread Pudding with caramel sauce is as delicious as it is decadent. Here's how to make this Food + Words original.

Bananas Foster Croissant Bread Pudding

Yield: one 9" x 13" pan
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Savor the season with this delicious Bananas Foster Croissant Bread Pudding: with a rich rum, caramel, and banana liqueur filling, it's a match made in heaven.

Ingredients

For the Croissant Bread Pudding

  • 12-15 small croissants, stale (at least a day old is best; if you can't find small croissants, you can tear 6 large croissants in half)
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups half & half
  • 1/4 cup dark rum
  • 2 tablespoons banana liqueur
  • 5 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (use pure vanilla extract if you don't have paste)

For The Banana Foster Sauce

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold, cubed
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons dark rum
  • 1 tablespoon banana liqueur
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • pinch kosher salt
  • 3-4 bananas, sliced into coins

Instructions

CROISSANT BREAD PUDDING

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

  2. Butter a 9" x 13" baking dish that's at least 2" tall.

  3. Place the mini croissants in the prepared baking dish, making sure they fit in snugly. You don't want there to be large gaps or too much room between the croissants, so you can tear a few up to fill some of the holes if you need to set aside.

  4. In a medium saucepan, combine the light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, and water. Place over medium-high heat, and stir frequently with a whisk or wooden spoon.

  5. While the sugars are cooking on the stove, combine the heavy cream and half & half in a large microwave-safe bowl.

  6. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between each heating until the liquid is warm.

  7. Add the dark rum and banana liqueur to the warmed cream mixture, and stir to combine. set aside.

  8. In a medium bowl, combine the beaten eggs, salt and vanilla bean paste. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

  9. When the brown sugars are dissolved in the water, and the mixture begins to boil, remove the pan from the heat. While whisking constantly, slowly pour in the heated cream mixture. The saucepan will likely bubble and hiss violently, but just continue whisking feverishly and adding the cream until the mixture is smooth and uniform.

  10. Very slowly pour the hot liquid from the saucepan into the bowl containing the beaten egg mixture, whisking constantly to avoid scrambling the eggs.

  11. When the custard is smooth and uniform, pour immediately over the croissants in the baking dish.

  12. The croissants will want to float to the top but press them down to ensure that the tops are soaked through.

  13. Carefully transfer the baking dish to the middle rack of the oven.

  14. Bake the croissant bread pudding at 350 degrees F for 30-45 minutes, or until the top is golden, and the custard is baked and the pudding is set.

  15. You can serve this immediately with the bananas foster sauce.

  16. If preparing in advance, allow to cool completely at room temperature. Cover the cooled baking dish with aluminum foil, and transfer to the fridge.

BANANAS FOSTER SAUCE

  1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan with high sides, combine the granulated sugar and water.

  2. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat. Allow the sugar to melt and dissolve, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.

  3. The sugar will begin to turn a light amber color once it's melted and continues to cook.

  4. When the sugar is a light brown color, add the cold cubes of butter, whisking constantly. The sugar will bubble and sizzle violently, but continue whisking until the butter is melted and the sauce is smooth.

  5. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and add the heavy cream. Again, the sauce will bubble up and hiss, but just whisk the sauce until it is smooth and the heavy cream is incorporated.

  6. Add the dark rum, banana liqueur, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk to combine.

  7. Switch to a silicone spatula, and add the banana coins, folding them into the caramel sauce to ensure they're coated with sauce.

  8. Pour the sauce immediately over slices of warm croissant bread pudding.

Notes

The croissant bread pudding can be prepared up to 3 days ahead of serving time. To reheat, simply uncover the baking dish and place in a 350 degree F oven for about 15-20 minutes, until heated through. Serve immediately.

Instead of sautéing bananas in brown sugar and butter, cut them into coins and add them to the finished caramel sauce a few minutes before serving. This way, the bananas maintain some of their lovely texture, while softening up just enough to allow the caramel sauce to permeate though.


* Croissant bread pudding adapted from savory sweet life. This recipe was originally published on 08/2011 by Jaclyn. Notes and photos updated on 06/2020.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1893Total Fat: 97gSaturated Fat: 58gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 32gCholesterol: 482mgSodium: 1243mgCarbohydrates: 218gFiber: 8gSugar: 152gProtein: 27g

This is only an estimate.

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The result? Buttery miniature croissants soaked with the right amount of banana brown sugar custard, dense but light and certainly tantalizing with every bite.

This is one time when you’re definitely allowed to be heavy-handed as you pour the sauce atop thick slices of warm bread pudding.

This New Orleans inspired Bananas Foster Croissant Bread Pudding with caramel sauce is as delicious as it is decadent. Here's how to make this Food + Words original.

You’ll be thankful, and if you decide to share this dessert with your friends and loves ones, they will love more.

This Bananas Foster Croissant Bread Pudding is sooooo worth it.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bananas Foster

How ripe should bananas be for bananas Foster?

You want ripe bananas that are still firm. You want the best flavor from the ripe bananas while still retaining the texture.

What does foster mean in bananas Foster?

Bananas Foster was named after Richard Foster, the chairman of the New Orleans Crime Commission back in the day when New Orleans was a major hub for the import of bananas (source).

This New Orleans inspired Bananas Foster Croissant Bread Pudding with caramel sauce is as delicious as it is decadent. Here's how to make this Food + Words original.

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