Recipe Swap: Pumpkin Bread Pudding

I follow a cooking chat list and one of the ladies on the board organizes recipe swaps. Now, I’m kind of shy so I haven’t signed up to participate. The theme of this swap was apples/pumpkin, and I knew that it was the perfect time to start. I submit a recipe that someone else makes and I get a recipe to try. My recipe was pumpkin bread pudding, submitted by Melissa of Delicious Meliscious. She’s got some great looking things on her blog so make sure you pay her a visit! Make sure you check out A Taste of Home Cooking, the recipe swap organizer, who will post a summary of all the swap recipes.

I’m not the biggest fan of bread pudding, although I like it a lot more than I used to. My husband loves bread pudding so I think he was happy with the recipe I got. I didn’t change the recipe at all. I used milk since I had that on hand, but you could use something richer if you wanted. I had left over egg yolks so I used 4 egg yolks instead of 2 eggs plus a yolk. It turned out just fine. It’s very simple to put together, as you don’t have to cook the custard in advance. (According to my husband, this is the way he knows to make bread pudding. Good to know!) This is really great served with the toffee sauce and ice cream. Both are optional but why would you opt out of toffee and ice cream?

I really enjoyed trying something new and I’m going to participate in future recipe swaps. So for the first time I’ll be making non-baked things. I’m excited to try something different and I hope you enjoy it as I expand my horizons.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

2 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups milk (light cream, half and half)
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 cups cubed day-old bread
1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have an 8” square pan ready; do not grease the pan.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, milk, melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, spices, and salt. Add the bread cubes and raisins and toss to coat, making sure all the bread cubes are coated with the custard.

Transfer the bread pudding mixture to the 8” pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the bread pudding from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.

Make the toffee sauce: place the brown sugar, butter, and cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for about 3 minutes then remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. The sauce can be made in advance.

Bread pudding can be served warm or cold. Serve with the toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Recipe from Joy of Baking