Banana-Coconut Soup with Floating Islands of Chocolate Bread Pudding

From the sound of this recipe title, you’re probably thinking that this is one of those “weekend only” recipes. But the recipe actually was developed specifically to help harried hosts and hostesses serve a beautiful, tasty dessert with little fuss.

Chocolate bread pudding is a dish that often requires chopping and melting good-quality chocolate, but this version gets plenty of chocolate flavor from prepared chocolate milk and chocolate chips, making this one of the easiest rich chocolate bread puddings possible.

The warm bread pudding floats in a sublime Banana-Coconut Soup that is a snap to prepare just before serving. The soup, a combination of chilled bananas, coconut milk, half and half, sour cream and vanilla, is so good you could drink it. Lemon juice helps keep the bananas from turning brown, but the soup will still discolor if made too far ahead. Placing all of the ingredients in the refrigerator several hours before preparing the soup allows you to make this flavorful cold dessert soup at the last minute.

For the Chocolate Bread Pudding:

• 1 round loaf sweet Hawaiian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cups light brown sugar
• 4 cups chocolate milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon dark rum, optional
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the bread cubes into a large bowl and set aside. Beat the eggs together with the brown sugar, chocolate milk, vanilla extract and rum, if desired, in a large bowl. Pour over the bread cubes, stirring gently to coat all bread cubes well. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the egg mixture to be absorbed, stirring several times. Pour into a 9-by-12-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, until bread pudding is puffed and golden around the edges. Remove from the oven, cover with foil and set aside for 20 minutes while you prepare the soup.

For the Banana Soup:

Note: Refrigerate all ingredients before preparing the soup.

• 1 15-ounce can coconut milk, chilled
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cold bananas, peeled
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Combine all ingredients in a blender.  Divide among bowls and place a scoop of the bread pudding in the center of each bowl.

Makes 8-10 servings.