Though cherry season has mostly come to an end, there are still plenty of cherry recipes to make before summer comes to an official close. As temperatures begin to drop, what better way to welcome the transition into fall than with a fresh baked bread pudding with bananas and cherries?
For this recipe, you’ll need to visit your liquor cabinet for your favorite rum, and if you don’t have any, that’s OK. Part of the fun of baking is being able to substitute ingredients where necessary, and you can use rum extract for this if you don’t have booze.
The cherries and roasted cinnamon will give this bread pudding a sweetly spiced flavor, perfect when served with ice cream and topped with whipped cream. When preparing the bread pudding, make sure the bread cubes and bananas are well coated with the sugary, milky blend. This will give you that perfectly moist texture you want with bread pudding. Pieces that aren’t well coated will end up with dried-out, tough bread bits.
If you don’t eat it all for breakfast, this bread pudding is the perfect dessert for upcoming holiday parties, or just when you need some sweetness in your life. Want more pudding-type desserts to try? Here are banana pudding, bread pudding and more of the most-searched desserts in every state.
Banana, Cherry and Roasted Cinnamon Bread Pudding
Courtesy of McCormickIngredients:
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 tablespoon rum
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons McCormick Gourmet Roasted Saigon Cinnamon
4 eggs
3 teaspoons McCormick All Natural Pure Vanilla Extract, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
7 cups challah, French or Italian bread cubes
2 ripe bananas, sliced
1 cup heavy cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix cherries and rum in small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes.
Mix sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the sugar mixture.
Mix eggs, remaining sugar mixture, 2 teaspoons of the vanilla and salt in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in milk until well blended. Add bread cubes and bananas; toss to coat well.
Pour into greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle cherries evenly over top. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the reserved sugar mixture.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly on wire rack.
Meanwhile, beat cream, remaining 1/4 cup sugar mixture and 1 teaspoon vanilla in medium bowl with electric mixer just until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve warm bread pudding with whipped cream.
By Rosie Siefert
