Fans of bread pudding will stand up and cheer, especially if you/they like pumpkin. The bread pudding is VERY easy to make – truly – although it does need to rest overnight before baking.
This recipe had been in my to-try file for several years. It came from Diane Phillip’s cookbook, Happy Holidays from the Diva of Do-Ahead: A Year of Feasts to Celebrate With Family And Friends. I own one of her cookbooks, but not this one – I think I found it at my local library and had made photocopies of recipes that sounded right down my alley. This was one. I needed a dessert that could be made ahead. Yes, you can mix it up ahead – and make the sauce that goes with it ahead too – but you do need to bake it somewhere close to serving time. I baked it a few hours ahead and then kept it heated in a very very low oven for an hour. The sauce I made the day before, which was good, as it said it will keep chilled in the refrigerator for up to 72 hours ahead. Diane Phillips is a master of the do-ahead meal. She and Phillis Carey teach a duo class at least once a year, near Christmastime.
The only problematical ingredient in making this is challah. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find it at any of my local markets, but was surprised to find Trader Joe’s has it. I will say, however, that their challah is very dense. I expected it to be lighter in texture, but it was not at all. If you can’t find challah, you could use King’s Hawaiian Bread instead – it’s a spongy, eggy bread, but it’s also very sweet, so I would reduce the sugar some in the recipe – by about a third is a guess. The bread gets torn up into a bunch of small pieces, bite-sized is best. Then you mix up the pumpkin stuff – eggs, brown sugar, canned pumpkin, cream and lots of good spices and it’s mixed into the bread. Stir it around a bunch, then pour it all into a 9×13 pan (I would use glass or nonstick, not metal), press any bread pieces down into the liquidy mixture (there won’t be much), cover and chill for at least 12 hours (or up to 72). You do have to bring it back to room temp (about an hour) before baking. Keep it covered and bake for 35-40 minutes.
IMPORTANT: I’ve included notes in the recipe below about the bread – if the challah is very dense, you may need more of the pumpkin mixture to soak into the bread – increase those ingredients some to compensate. You want the bread pudding to have ample gooey-ness and it won’t if the bread is dense or dry.
Ideally, serve this warm. I baked it a few hours ahead and just reheated it in a 175° oven for about 30 minutes before serving. Whatever you do, don’t let it dry out.
What absolutely MAKES this dessert is the sauce. It’s not hard to make, but it does take a bit of time to do. It’s 3 parts whole milk and 1 part cream, so it’s not all that bad in the fat department. You steep the milk with crystallized ginger pieces and the zest of an orange. Those are strained out, then you make the sauce part with egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and some orange liqueur and cream added in at the end. BE SURE to strain the sauce at the end as you’ll invariably get some egg white solids in there, and it’s not so fun finding those in your super-smooth pudding or sauce when you serve it! I prepared it the day before, which made for easy reheating. Actually I warmed the sauce on the stove – watching it carefully so it wouldn’t burn, then I placed the saucepan right in the 175°oven with the bread pudding I warmed.
I had ample sauce left over – because people didn’t take enough of the sauce when they served themselves – but I found this sauce is absolutely wonderful as a pudding! I gave some to a friend and we had some of it a few days later. It’s not totally firm like most puddings, it’s looser, but you can see in the photo above, it’s still almost pudding consistency. If you want to make this AS a pudding, reduce the milk quantity down to 2 1/2 cups rather than 3.
What’s good: the sauce is the best part, but I like pumpkin anything, so I enjoyed that too. I liked making this because most of the work is done ahead of time.
What’s not: really nothing. I’d make this again – but I would increase the pumpkin and egg mixture so it’s more gooey. That’s it.
Pumpkin Bread Pudding printer-friendly Cute PDF
Pumpkin Bread Pudding MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file (and remember where you put it), run MC, then File|Import
Orange Ginger Custard Sauce printer-friendly Cute PDF
Orange Ginger Custard Sauce MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file (and remember where you put it), run MC, then File|Import
* Exported from MasterCook *
Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Orange Ginger Custard Sauce
Recipe By: Dianne Phillips, cookbook author, cooking instructor (from one of her cookbooks)
Serving Size: 12
NOTES: If you can’t find challah bread, use King’s Hawaiian Bread. IF DOING SO, reduce the sugar to 2/3 cup (King’s bread is sweetened). Also, If the challah is quite dense, increase the amount of the pumpkin mixture (i.e., 2 cups cream, more pumpkin, 5 or 6 eggs, more brown sugar and spices) as it will soak up all of the liquid and could be too dry once baked. You want the bread pudding to have some looseness to it and be very moist.
1 pound challah — or other egg bread, torn into chunks (about 9 cups)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
16 ounces pumpkin puree — canned, Libby’s
4 large eggs
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Orange Ginger Custard Sauce (see adjoining recipe)
1. When ready to bake this, preheat oven to 350°. Read Notes section regarding the challah.
2. Coat 13 x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Put torn bread in large bowl. In another large bowl, whisk eggs until smooth, then add cream, pumpkin, brown sugar and all spices. Mix well with whisk. Pour over bread and stir to blend, pushing bread down into mixture. Transfer to prepared dish. Cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or up to 72 hours.
3. Bring to room temperature before continuing. Bake pudding (still covered with foil) until puffed and golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
4. Serve individual portions in a pool of custard sauce, or drizzle sauce over the top. Variation: Sprinkle pudding with about 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts before baking.
Per Serving: 211 Calories; 13g Fat (53.1% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 22g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 112mg Cholesterol; 44mg Sodium.
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* Exported from MasterCook *
Orange Ginger Custard Sauce or Pudding
Recipe By: From The Diva’s Famous Do-Ahead Thanksgiving Dinner – from Happy Holidays from the Diva of Do-Ahead, Diane Phillips
Serving Size: 12
NOTES: You may also serve this gingery smooth custard sauce with apple cake, gingerbread, spice cake or bread pudding. It can also be eaten straight, as a pudding. Don’t overwhelm it with other very strong flavors as you’ll miss the nuance of the delicate orange and ginger flavoring. DO strain the sauce – you’ll be sorry if you don’t as you’ll have little bits of cooked egg white in it!
3 cups whole milk Zest of 1 orange
2 teaspoons crystallized ginger — chopped
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoons. orange liqueur — or orange extract (1 to 2)
1. In medium pan, heat milk, orange zest, and ginger over medium high heat until milk begins to form bubbles around sides of pan. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes.
2. Strain zest and ginger out of milk, returning milk to the pan.
3. In another bowl whisk eggs thoroughly, then whisk in sugar and cornstarch. Add to milk mixture and place over medium heat, whisking until mixture thickens and comes to a boil, 4 to 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and stir in cream and liqueur (I used about 2 tsp of orange liqueur). Pour through a fine strainer or cheesecloth (to remove any egg solids) and into a glass bowl. Let cool slightly and press plastic wrap directly against surface to keep a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
5. At this point, you may refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze up to 1 month. When ready to serve, rewhisk sauce and serve cold or warm. Per Serving: 171 Calories; 12g Fat (62.7% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 142mg Cholesterol; 42mg Sodium.
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