Molokai Sweet Bread Pudding
Molokai bread is an unspiced sweet Hawaiian yeast bread usually served for breakfast, but it also makes wonderful desserts. Hawaiian bread is available in some groceries; brioche may be substituted. For this pudding, the bread is densely packed with custard, spices, and fruit, and served with a sweet rum sauce.
Ingredients
- Bread Pudding
- Eggs - 6
- Sugar - 2 cups
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 2-1/2 cups
- Cinnamon - 1 tablespoon
- Ground nutmeg - 1 tablespoon
- Fresh pineapple chunks - 2 cups
- Bananas - 2 cups, sliced
- Macadamia nuts - 1 cup, roughly chopped
- Molokai sweet bread or brioche - 1-1/2 pounds
- Hana Bay Rum Sauce
- Egg Yolks - 6
- Confectioner’s Sugar - 2 cups, sifted
- Unsalted Butter - 4 tablespoons, melted
- Hana Bay or other dark rum - 1/2 tablespoon
- Garnish
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1 cup
- Granulated Sugar - 1 tablespoon
- Mint sprigs - 4, fresh
Instructions
To make the pudding: Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. In an electric mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed for 5 minutes, or until pale in color and doubled in volume. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the sugar, then add the cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, pineapple, and banana. Add the nuts. Cut the bread into slices, then cut the slices in half. Add the bread pieces to the fruit mixture and let soak for 15 minutes. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan, pressing it into the corners. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 1 hour, or until firm and golden. Let cool.
To make the sauce: In an electric mixer bowl, beat the eggs on high speed for 3 minutes, or until pale in color. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the confectioner’s sugar and melted butter. Stir in the rum until blended.
To serve: Beat the cream until it thickens. Sprinkle in the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Pool the sauce in the center of 8 dessert plates and place a slice of the bread pudding in each pool of sauce. Place the cream in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe a rosette of cream on top of each slice. Garnish with bits of mint.
