VIETNAMESE COCONUT BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING

COMPLIMENTARY RECIPE

“A classic banana cake from Saigon inspired this bread and butter pudding recipe. It's light and not overly sweet.” - Chef Luke Nguyen

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

8 slices of stale bread, crust removed
3 eggs
2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
1 vanilla pod, beans removed
425 ml coconut milk
3 ripe sweet finger bananas, peeled and diced
¼ cup sliced almonds
¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted

METHOD

Soaking time 15 minutes

Preheat oven to 190ºC and butter a baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, condensed milk and vanilla bean together. Slowly pour in the coconut milk and mix all ingredients together.

Slice the bread into triangle pieces, and line a small baking dish with a layer of bread. Overlap the bread on an angle, rather than flat. Scatter some of the diced banana, then layer with more bread.

Pour ⅔ of the coconut mixture over the top layer of bread and let it sit for 15 minutes to soak up the milk.

Pour the rest of the coconut mixture. For a soft, traditional pudding, pour the remaining coconut over the bread to ensure it is fully submerged. If you prefer your pudding to have a toasty, golden finish, skip this step. Sprinkle the top with the sliced almonds.

Place the dish in a roasting pan or larger ovenproof dish and add enough boiling water to the roasting pan to reach ⅔ up the side of the dish.

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes.