When I first started thinking about what kind of recipes I wanted to develop in my Food Media class, I knew I wanted to work on things I would never work on at home. I really wanted to take advantage of being in a huge professional kitchen, with tons of equipment, and the immeasurable expertise of Dawn Perry and 13 other cooks at my disposal.
My dessert is, hands down, my favorite of the five recipes that I developed, and I think it’s because it’s the opposite of the kind of food I usually cook. It’s rich, super indulgent, and includes a sauce that isn’t complicated, per se, but a bit finicky to make. This is the dessert equivalent of a worn-in H&M t-shirt paired with an Hermes bag; the bread pudding is easy to make and quite forgiving, but while it quietly bakes away in the oven, you can turn your attention to the finicky Crème Anglaise.
Crème Anglaise is an eggy custard sauce, which is used as a serving sauce, but is also as the base for ice cream and crème brûlée. The first time I tested it, I was very nervous, considering that fancy desserts are not my thing. When the sauce turned out on that very first try, I was elated - and in pleasant disbelief. And when I tasted it, I knew all the nerves were worth it.
So what is so finicky about the sauce? Well, if you let your milk get too hot, or if you add it in too quickly, your eggs will scramble instead of incorporating into the milk, thereby ruining the sauce and prompting you to start over. The secret is to have your mise en place and equipment ready before you start cooking. As for the booze, any dark kind will do (bourbon, cognac, etc.) You may serve the pudding in a pool of Crème Anglaise, or theatrically drizzle the pudding with Crème Anglaise in front of your friends while singing a Frank Sinatra tune - both would be wonderful.
Challah-Banana Pudding with Rum Crème Anglaise
Active: 25 minutes, Total: 1 hour
(Yield: 6 servings)
Pudding:
- 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened, for baking dish
- 2 ½ cups whole milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
- ⅓ cup plus 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar, divided
- ½ loaf challah (about 12 oz), cubed
- 2 bananas, sliced ¼” thick
Rum Crème Anglaise and Assembly:
- 4 cups ice water
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp. dark rum
- Raspberries, crushed, for garnish
To make pudding:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8×8” baking dish with butter; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together milk, cream, eggs, vanilla, sea salt and ⅓ cup sugar until fully incorporated. Add challah and bananas. Using a rubber spatula, mix until all bread is evenly soaked; bread should be squishy when poked - if it’s dry, mix in more milk or cream. Transfer to prepared baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp. sugar.
3. Bake until top is crisp and golden brown, 35-45 minutes. Serve warm.
To make Crème Anglaise and assemble the pudding:
1. Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and place a medium bowl into the bath. Have a mesh strainer handy.
2. In a small saucepan, heat up milk until steamy and tiny bubbles begin to appear around the perimeter of the pan, about 5 minutes.
3. In the meantime, stir together egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl, just until combined.
4. Whisking continually, pour warm milk into eggs in a thin steady stream until a smooth sauce forms. Pour sauce back into saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring continually with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 6 minutes.
5. Immediately strain custard into the clean bowl set inside the water bath. Whisk custard until it stops steaming, about 30 seconds. Whisk in rum.
6. To serve, pour a few tablespoons of Crème Anglaise into a serving bowl and top with a slice of bread pudding. Garnish with berries.
Do ahead: Crème Anglaise can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container.
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