Rumor has it that there’s a shortage of pumpkin. Yikes! How could this be? Would this be the year that the coveted ingredient of the season would be pumpkin?! Apparently, in some areas of the US, canned pureed pumpkin and pumpkin pie filling are not as readily available… at least not yet. I hope those who are having trouble finding it will be able to get their hands on pumpkin soon so they too, can indulge in pumpkin recipes in time for fall baking season.
Thankfully, here in Chicago, I haven’t had any problems finding canned pumpkin. In fact, I picked up a couple 29 oz. cans of pumpkin just in case the shortage hits Chicago. With so much pumpkin on hand, it was hard not to start putting it to use! There’s something comforting about bread pudding to me, which I’ve explained here… so I took this opportunity to use my pumpkin in making this bread pudding. The combination of pumpkin and cinnamon captures the flavors of fall with every bite, perfect for this time of year. What I liked about this recipe is the ease in putting it together. Just the aroma of all the ingredients makes me anxious for the leaves to start turning color. And if the pumpkin bread pudding wasn’t enough, the rich, buttery caramel sauce made with dark brown sugar puts this over the top!
Bread pudding
2 cups half and half
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 cups 1/2-inch cubes French bread (about 10-ounces)
Caramel sauce
1 1/4 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
Powdered sugar for garnish (optional)
For bread pudding:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk half and half, pumpkin, dark brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and vanilla extract in large bowl to blend. Fold in bread cubes. Transfer mixture to 11×7-inch baking dish. Let stand 15 minutes. Bake pumpkin bread pudding until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare caramel sauce:
Whisk brown sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Whisk in cream and stir until sugar dissolves and sauce is smooth, about 3 minutes.
Serve warm with caramel sauce and sift powdered sugar over bread pudding if desired.
mmm — I can't wait until it gets cold enough here in Texas to make this with some vanilla ice cream scooped on top! Heaven.
Joelen, this sounds fabulous! I certainly hope the pumpkin shortage isn't going to effect us here b/c I would really like to try this recipe.
This looks just fabulous! What a great way to have pumpkin!
I baked pumpkin bars and drop cookies, the other day and pumpkin has a wonderful flavor. I want to try this. It looks scrumptious.
It's funny that you mention a pumpkin shortage because I had the hardest time finding pumpkin puree (NOT pie mix) last week in Chicago. Both Dominick's and Jewel were out – I had to go to Whole Foods and get the $3/can organic pumpkin puree! You'll have to let me know which store/location you found yours!
Your bread pudding looks amazing! I love bread pudding in general, but adding pumpkin and caramel – yum!!!
Tasted this at a friend's house this weekend – DELICIOUS!! Has anyone ever tried making this with fresh pumpkin?
I made this tonight as a trial run for Thanksgiving. It is absolutely fantastic. Only thing I did different was to use cinnamon bread that I made in my bread machine. I didn't make the caramel sauce, it really didn't need it. I will serve it with unsweetened whipped cream as the pudding is plenty sweet on its own. Happy Thanksgiving!
This caught my eye while looking at your pumpkin cupcake recipe…this bread pudding looks like my perfect pumpkin dessert! I'm making this as soon as I can!