BANANA MACADAMIA NUT BREAD PUDDING W/ WHITE CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Butter a 10 x 14-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside.
• Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 cup of the brown sugar and the cinnamon and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Add the bananas and cook on both sides, turning, until the bananas start to soften and brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• Whisk together the eggs, remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, milk, and cream in a large bowl. Add the cooled banana mixture, nuts, and bread and fold to blend thoroughly. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
• Cover with foil and set aside in refrigerate over night.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F Bake for 45 min to 1 hour until firm, remove cover and bake for additional 10 min until top is brown.
• Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.
• For the white chocolate sauce: bring the 1/4 cup sugar, milk, cream, vanilla seeds and empty bean pod almost to a boil in a med sauce pan then remove the bean pod.
• In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks in a mixing bowl. Stir until smooth. Gradually add the 3 tablespoons of heavy cream. Add one fourth of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture. Pour this back into the cream mixture in saucepan.
• Cook over a gentle heat, whisking continuously to avoid scorching. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat and pour the sauce back into the mixing bowl through a fine mesh strainer over white chocolate. Mix until chocolate is melted and sauce is smooth. Cool over an ice bath, stirring occasionally (makes 5 cups).
• To serve, scoop the pudding onto dessert plates. Top each serving with a small scoop of ice cream, drizzle with sauce, and serve immediately.