Dark Chocolate Banana Croissant Puddings

I awoke to a grey, rainy day. Unusually chilly for Singapore, though I suspect foreigners might scoff 'YOU THINK THIS IS COLD?!' . But whatever, chilly afternoons are a perfect excuse to make puddings. Warm, toasty and chocolatey puddings. Puddings that make you sigh with contentment as you spoon in every soft, sweet bite. Puddings that go great with ice cream. 

Even though this one made me really sad at the end because it was GONE, it's still a keeper - silky dark chocolate, creamy bananas and buttery croissants. Yummmmeh! Frantically scraped every last nugget of croissant and chocolate crust, but sigh. All good things have to come to an end. I deviated from Nigella's original recipe, which called for too much liquid and added my own few mix-ins. 

Feel free to toss in some nuts for added texture. Or if you've a dessert death wish (HIGH5!!!!), drizzle with some irish toffee sauce.

Baker's Notes

• I used individual ramekins which are great for a dinner party and calls for a shorter baking time (20 minutes). Serve it family style in a huge dish, but remember to extend the baking time to 45-50 minutes.
• Butter your ramekins generously to lift the puddings out. 
• Whisk in the eggs one at a time to the custard mixture, but quickly, so you don't have a scrambled eggfest on hand! 

Dark Chocolate Banana Croissant Puddings (Serves 4)

Author : The Bakerlily

Ingredients

3 stale croissants

125 grams sugar

3 tablespoons water

180ml double cream

180 ml full fat milk

3 tablespoons irish cream (or rum)

3 large eggs (beaten)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

60g chopped dark chocolate

2 sliced medium bananas

1.    Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4/350ºF.

2.   Tear the croissants into pieces and put in individual ramekins.Scatter an equal portion of sliced bananas and chocolate onto the croissants.

3.   Put the sugar and water into a saucepan, and swirl around to help dissolve the sugar before putting the saucepan on the hob over a medium to high heat.

4.   Caramelize the sugar and water mixture by letting it bubble away, without stirring, until it all turns a deep amber colour; this will take 3-5 minutes. Swirl, but don't stir. In the meantime, whisk together your milk, vanilla, salt and cinnamon.

5.   Turn heat down to low and add the cream - ignoring all spluttering - and, whisking away, add in the milk mixture. Any solid toffee that forms in the pan will dissolve easily if you keep whisking over low heat. Take off the heat and, still whisking, add the beaten eggs quickly. 

6.    Pour the caramel bourbon custard over the croissants and leave to steep for 10 minutes if the croissants are very stale.

7.  Place in the oven for 20 minutes and until pudding springs back when gently touched. Puddings are best served and eaten warm, with a dollop of ice cream.