Two iconic southern desserts, hummingbird cake and bread pudding, collide in this flavorful dessert recipe! Bread pudding made with banana, crushed pineapple, and chopped pecans is topped off with a sweet cream cheese praline sauce to create the ultimate springtime (or anytime) dessert.
I've tried a ton of different variations of bread pudding and I must say this recipe is one of my favorites. Hummingbird was one of the flavors in mine and my husband's wedding cake, so needless to say I'm a huge fan! And bread pudding might just be my favorite dessert of them all, so it's only right that I combine the two to create something epic!
This is a rich, decadent dessert that I love to serve with Easter dinner, although my family requests this bread pudding all throughout the year. Since the bread pudding itself is not overly sweet, the sweet, buttery praline sauce is the perfect compliment to this dessert. I hope you love this recipe as much as my family and I do!
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Ingredients You Need To Make This Recipe
- French bread. This recipe calls for one loaf of French bread. Bread that is at least one day old works best for this recipe. You can tear or cut the bread into small pieces about an inch or two in diameter. There is no need to be exact.
- Eggs. This recipe calls for five large eggs which will act as a binder for the bread pudding.
- Half and half. The half-and-half is combined with the eggs and other ingredients to create the custard for the bread pudding.
- Granulated sugar. This recipe calls for a combination of granulated and brown sugar to sweeten the bread pudding. Do you need ¾ of a cup.
- Brown sugar. You need a half a cup of dark brown sugar for this recipe.
- Ground cinnamon. The cinnamon adds a subtle spiciness and sweetness and brings out the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Vanilla extract. This ingredient adds delicious flavor and depth to the bread pudding. I recommend using good quality vanilla such as Nielsen-Massey Pure Vanilla Extract. Do not use vanilla flavoring.
- Crushed pineapple. This recipe calls for one cup of crushed pineapple. The pineapple combined with the banana and pecans is what really creates the flavors of hummingbird cake. Drain the pineapple for this recipe.
- Two medium ripe bananas. Mash one banana in a bowl with a fork and slice the other banana into discs.
- Chopped pecans. One cup of chopped pecans will be mixed into the bread pudding before it goes into the oven.
- Unsalted butter. ¼ cup of unsalted butter is melted and poured on top of the bread pudding before it goes into the oven.
Praline Sauce
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- One cup of sweetened condensed milk
- 4 ounces of room temperature cream cheese, cut into cubes
- ¼ cup of half and half
- ½ cup chopped pecans
How To Make This Recipe
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- To a medium mixing bowl, add the eggs, half-and-half, granulated sugar, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, the mashed banana, and the crushed pineapple. Whisk the ingredients together until everything is combined.
- Add the French bread pieces to a large mixing bowl and pour the egg mixture over top of the bread. Use a wooden spoon to stir the ingredients together, making sure the custard covers all of the bread. You can use the spoon to push the bread down into the custard if needed.
- Add the sliced banana and the chopped pecans to the bowl with the bread mixture. Mix the banana and pecans into the bread pudding with the wooden spoon until evenly distributed.
- Spoon the the bread pudding into the prepared baking dish. Pour the melted butter over top of the bread pudding.
- Bake the bread pudding in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, until golden brown on top and set in the middle.
- While the bread pudding is cooling prepare the praline sauce by melting four tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and half-and-half and cook while stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce is smooth, about 3-5 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped pecans and continue to cook for about another minute. Remove the sauce from the heat and carefully pour it over the bread pudding. Serve the bread pudding warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you prefer. Enjoy!
Variations and Substitutions
If you are not able to find French bread you can make this bread pudding with Italian bread, brioche bread, croissants, white sandwich bread, or even Hawaiian bread. Just make sure you have about 10 cups of bread for this recipe.
Being that this is a hummingbird bread pudding recipe, any substitutions would essentially change the recipe. However, you may certainly omit or substitute the banana, crushed pineapple, or pecans to create a different variation of bread pudding.
What Is Bread Pudding?
Bread pudding is a dish that dates all the way back to the 11th century and was one of many dishes created as a way to use up stale bread and avoid waste. Bread pudding was known as a poor man's dish in its early days but has evolved into a dessert that can be found on the menus of many upscale restaurants.
Bread pudding is wildly popular in the southern US, especially New Orleans, where it is typically made with French bread, a sweet custard that is sometimes flavored with bourbon or another dark liquor, and raisins.
I grew up eating bread pudding at just about every holiday dinner and it's still one of my all-time favorite desserts.
What Is Hummingbird Cake?
Hummingbird cake is a deliciously moist cake flavored with banana, pineapple, pecans, and sometimes coconut. It is almost always frosted with cream cheese icing and can be made as a layer cake, bundt cake, loaf cake, or sheet cake.
According to this interesting Jamie Oliver article, hummingbird cake is thought to have originated in Jamaica sometime in the late '60s. The tropical ingredients, pineapple and banana, certainly back up this origin theory!
The first hummingbird cake recipe was published in Southern Living Magazine in 1978, and it has been a quintessential southern dessert ever since.
Make-Ahead and Storing Instructions
You can prepare this bread pudding a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake. Combine all of the ingredients, transfer the bread pudding to the baking dish, wrap it in plastic wrap, and store it in the refrigerator. When ready to bake, just remove the plastic wrap and bake the bread pudding until set.
You can also prepare the cream cheese praline sauce a day or two in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Just reheat the sauce in the microwave or on the stovetop. Add a couple of tablespoons of cream or water if you need to thin the sauce out.
Leftover bread pudding can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Recommended Tools for This Recipe
More Irresistible Desserts You Will Love!
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- Brown Butter Praline Poke Cake
- Banana Pudding Icebox Pie
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake
📖 Recipe
Hummingbird Bread Pudding with Praline Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French bread torn or sliced into about 1-inch pieces
- 5 large eggs
- 4 cups half and half
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract not vanilla flavoring
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup crushed pineapple drained
- 2 ripe bananas 1 mashed, one sliced into discs
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup unsated butter melted
Praline Sauce
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened, cut into cubes
- ¼ cup of half and half
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- To a medium mixing bowl add the eggs, half-and-half, granulated sugar, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, the mashed banana, and the crushed pineapple. Whisk the ingredients together until everything is combined.
- Add the French bread pieces to a large mixing bowl and pour the egg mixture over top of the bread. Use a wooden spoon to stir the ingredients together, making sure the custard covers all of the bread. You can use the spoon to push the bread down into the custard if needed.
- Add the sliced banana and the chopped pecans to the bowl with the bread mixture. Mix the banana and pecan into the bread pudding with the wooden spoon until evenly distributed.
- Spoon the the bread pudding into the prepared baking dish. Pour the melted butter over top of the bread pudding.
- Bake the bread pudding in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, until golden brown on top and set in the middle.
- While the bread pudding is cooling prepare the praline sauce by melting ¼ cup of butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and half-and-half and cook while stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce is smooth, about 3-5 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped pecans and continue to cook for about another minute. Remove the sauce from the heat and carefully pour it over the bread pudding. Serve the bread pudding warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you prefer. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use bread that is 1-2 days old for the best results.
- Soften the cream cheese by leaving it out at room temperature for 2-3 hours.
- Leftover bread pudding can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Marlon Boyd
My Family and I loved this! Easy to Make and something different they’ve never had before. Thank you!!!
Ashley Boyd
I'm so happy you and your family enjoyed the recipe and got to try something new. Thanks so much for trying it!