Pumpkin Bread Pudding Spiked with Bourbon and Topped with Candied Pumpkin Seeds and Creme Anglaise
Bread pudding is one of the easiest desserts you can make. Just toss it all together and bake it. Normally, I develop most of my recipes unless a restaurant shares something special with me from their menu. But this time, the bread pudding recipe is borrowed from one of my favorite sites, Smitten Kitchen. After all, why mess with perfection? I have changed the recipe a bit by adding some toppings which complement it perfectly. Bake this in small individual ramekins, small individual cast iron pans or a regular 8 X 8 casserole pan. If you want easy, just stick with the bread pudding. If you want it a little more sophisticated, then add my candied Pumpkin Seeds and pour on the chilled Cream Anglaise the warm bread pudding just before serving. You can also buy candied nuts if your trying to save time. Trader Joes, Whole Foods and William Sonoma all carry a variety of Walnuts, Pecans and Almonds all have been spiced up with holiday flavors and candied nuts are readily available this time of year.
Bread Pudding Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 25-30 minutes
Serves 4-5 depending on how you serve it and what you serve it in.
Ingredients Bread Pudding:
1 3/4 cup whole milk (or half and half)
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs and 1 large egg yolk
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
⅛ tsp ground allspice
pinch ground cloves
2 1/2 Tbs bourbon
¾ stick unsalted butter
6 cups cubed day old bread, french or challah work nicely
Directions Bread Pudding:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the cream or milk, sugar, eggs, salt, spices and bourbon in a small bowl. Melt the butter. Toss the bread cubes with the butter in a medium sized bowl. Make sure the bread is coated evenly. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the bread. Mix well. Pour into a buttered 8 inch square pan and bake 25-30 minutes on the middle rack. Serve warm.
Ingredients Cinnamon Holiday Spiced Mexican Pumpkin Seeds:
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
2 cups raw green Mexican pumpkin seeds
2 Tbs melted butter
3 Tbs brown sugar
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
Directions, Pumpkin Seeds:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place raw pumpkin seeds on a parchment lined cookie sheet and toast for 7-8 minutes. Melt the butter in a fry pan. Add the sugar and spices. Stir well. Remove seeds from oven. Pour butter mixture evenly over seeds. Toss seeds coating well. Toast another 5-7 minutes watching that they do not burn. Remove from oven. Cool. Break seeds apart if necessary. Store at room temperature. These can be made 2 days ahead.
Ingredients Creme Anglaise:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
1 cup cream
½ cup sugar
1 ½ cups whole milk
6 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions Creme Anglaise:
Add the cream and the milk to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and stir well. Bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Set aside ten minutes to cool a bit. Meanwhile, whisk all the yolks together. Add a few tablespoons of the warm milk/cream that has been set aside into the eggs yolks constantly whisking so that the eggs do not curdle. When mixed well, add a few more tablespoons of milk. When it is mixed well, pour the smooth egg milk mixture back into the saucepan and return the saucepan to the stove over low heat. Add the vanilla extract. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, and scraping down the sides of the pan and bottom with a spatula. This should take just about 6-8 minutes until the custard is gets thicker and leaves a film on the back of your spoon. Remove from heat. Put the pan inside of another pan of cold ice water to cool it down. Pour your mixture through a cheesecloth into another bowl. If your mixture has curdled in anyway, you might be able to save it by using a hand held immersion blender to blend the curds back into a smooth cream. This can be made 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.