Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

I am a HUGE bread pudding fan. I love finding great bread pudding {which if you ever are in Mesa, you just go to Cracker's Cafe and have theirs- it is to die for!} So anyway, the picture totally sold me on this and I had to try it. But it is kind of a mix of a couple of recipes so this is what I did!

Ingredients
1 loaf challah bread
4 large eggs
4 cups half-and-half
3/4 cup mashed overripe bananas, about 2 large
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate coarsely chopped

Directions
Cut bread into 3/4-inch slices. Trim away crust, then cut bread into 3/4-inch cubes, to make 8 cups.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs until well beaten.
Whisk in half-and-half, banana, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.
Pour mixture over bread. Add chocolate.
Mix with rubber spatula until bread is well moistened. Set aside for 30 minutes.
Set rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Coat a 9x13 pan with butter or cooking spray. Scoop soaked bread mixture into pan, filling it to top.
Bake until top is browned and puffed, and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
Pour warm vanilla Sauce over and serve, with dollop of whipped cream if desired.

Vanilla Sauce:
In a sauce pan melt,

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

Add 1 cup heavy whipping cream and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

Take off heat and add 1 tsp vanilla.

**So I thought this was delicious, but there are a couple things I may try next time. . .

1st: I may not mash the bananas, but chop them into chunks so the whole thing is not overrun with banana flavor.
2nd: I saw this recipe that was essentially the same, but they cut the half and half down to 2.5 cups and added 1.5 cups maple syrup. How can you go wrong with that?
3rd: I may try this caramel sauce next time:

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
½ cup water
1 (13-ounce) can evaporated milk
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
1.Combine sugar and water in medium saucepan; cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue to boil, without stirring, 10 to 14 minutes, tilting pan occasionally to keep color even until Stir in evaporated milk (mixture will foam up); do not scrape sides of pan. One tablespoon at a time, add ¼ cup butter, stirring well after each addition. Stir in remaining butter and vanilla extract until smooth.