2 bananas, sliced

6 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 cups milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

Whipped cream, (optional)

1. Grease a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Arrange the bread, chocolate and bananas in the dish, mixing them around, making sure that they are evenly distributed.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs and egg yolks on medium speed until they are frothy. Add the sugar and beat the mixture until thick and lemon colored, about 3 minutes. Add the milk, reducing the speed to low, and mix to combine. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Ladle the custard over the bread. Let the pudding sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour to help the bread absorb the custard, occasionally pushing the bread down with a wooden spoon. (You can test to see if a bread cube has absorbed some of the custard by cutting into it.)

4. Place the baking dish in a larger baking pan than the baking dish and pour enough boiling water into the outer pan to reach halfway up the sides of the pudding dish. Transfer the pudding into the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

5. Remove the pudding from the oven, sprinkle it with powdered sugar and let rest about 10 minutes. Serve in squares alone or with whipped cream. It is also excellent served cold the next day.

(Diane Rossen Worthington is an authority on new American cooking. She is the author of 18 cookbooks, including "Seriously Simple Parties," and a James Beard Award-winning radio show host. You can contact her at www.seriouslysimple.com.)