Dulce de Leche Banana Bread Pudding

Last week I got my bread maker out for the first time, and wanting to do another Edd Kimber recipe I attempted to make brioche so that I could have a go at his Dulce de Leche Banana Bread Pudding. The brioche was a minor a disaster (ie it didn’t rise as much as it should have done) but apart from that it was useable, and therefore I went ahead and made the pudding. It’s pretty similar to the chocolate pudding I made a few days before, but better if you’re not a chocolate fan! The caramel and banana worked really well, it was light and the flavour combinations are a classic success. This pudding would be fab in the winter: serve warm with ice cream, but was also good as a cold summer pudding, served straight out of the fridge. It’s versatile, yummy and super simple to make.

The original recipe can be found here, in Edd Kimber’s book The Boy Who Bakes, but here’s my edited version below. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: check out his book! If you’re a baking fan then it’s definitely worth it! Plus, it’s relevant right now: the Great British Bake Off is back, and Edd’s lookalike in this series, James, seems to be doing quite well!

Ingredients:
Butter, for greasing
Approximately 1 large brioche loaf (500g)
Tin of dulce de leche (you’ll only use about ¾ of it)
1 banana, sliced
3 eggs
20g dark brown sugar
200ml whole milk
200ml double cream

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius in a fan oven), Gas Mark 4, and lightly butter a 23cm x 33cm glass baking dish. Slice the brioche into 2cm thick slices and then into quarters.

Spread each piece with a thick layer of the dulce de leche.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl followed by the milk and cream.

Arrange a single layer of the prepared brioche in the baking dish. Top with some sliced banana; then pour some of the custard over the brioche. Leave it for a few minutes to soak into bread, then repeat, building up layers of brioche with banana and topping with custard until the dish is full.

Pour the remaining custard over the pudding, cover it with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and then bake for a further 10-20 minutes or until the middle is a little wobbly.

Enjoy hot or cold. Edd suggests serving with his Ginger Crème Anglaise, which I didn’t try, but would like to in the future. This is a recipe I’ll definitely be taking to uni with me – there’s something about homemade puddings that are so much better than the shop bought versions!