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Michael Voltaggio’s Banana Bread Pudding

Save room for dessert! Chef Michael Voltaggio’s riff on the famous banana pudding from Wilber’s Barbecue & Restaurant in Goldsboro, North Carolina, combines vanilla wafers and bread cubes with a creamy banana custard. Then the rich pudding is baked until golden brown and topped with vanilla wafer ice cream. This is down-home comfort food at its finest.

By williamssonoma · From Open Recipes · 7 ingredients
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Michael Voltaggio’s Banana Bread Pudding

Why it works: Vanilla and banana are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,430 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

Michael Voltaggio’s Banana Bread Pudding

Serves 9.

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

346Calories
8 gProtein
16 gFat
42 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Banana1 medium (118g)105
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Ice Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By williamssonoma. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Vanilla + bananatop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  2. Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  4. Vanilla + creamtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together12,301 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

  5. Banana + sugartop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,102 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

Vanilla and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the banana

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vanilla, egg, sugar, cream):

  1. Strawberryfits better
  2. Raspberryfits about as well
  3. Figfits about as well
  4. Bananathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vanilla, egg, sugar, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.