Pumpkin Praline Bread Pudding
Now that it’s officially Fall, I’m going to be one of those annoying people jumping on the pumpkin bandwagon sharing all the pumpkin recipes….beginning with this Pumpkin Praline Bread Pudding! I actually made this LAST year for a friend for her birthday and NEVER posted it. What the heck?!
I only remembered it because while I was in Texas earlier this week, some of the volunteers and I were talking about all the leftover bread ends. We served pork loin with mashed potatoes and gravy with 2 slices of Bunny bread. We had the most massive pile of end pieces and one of the ladies said, “I bet Aimee could make a great bread pudding with all those bread pieces”. While I was encouraged by her vote of confidence, I know there’s NO WAY I could attempt bread pudding for a crowd of 1,000 people. And this conversation was happening long after the dinner rush had passed anyway.
But the conversation of bread pudding led my thoughts to this Pumpkin Praline Bread Pudding from last year that is one of THE most comforting dishes to serve in the Fall.
Pumpkin Praline Bread Pudding
This recipe is slightly adapted from Michele at Flavor Mosaic.
Ingredients
- For the Pumpkin Bread Pudding:
- 1 loaf (1 pound) day old French bread, cubed into small pieces
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or homemade, see below)
- Praline Sauce:
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup pecans
- Pumpkin Pie Spice:
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon mace
- 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar, for dusting
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and place cubed bread pieces into the bottom of the dish.
In a large bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the bread pudding. Slowly pour over the bread pieces in the dish making sure each pieces is coated. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
While the bread pudding is baking, make the praline sauce. In a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together the butter, heavy cream, and brown sugar; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and stir in pecans. Simmer until the sauce thickens; about 5 minutes. Pour over the bread pudding prior to serving. Lightly dust with confectioners sugar. Serve warm.
And while I’m calling this thing of beauty a dessert, we most certainly enjoyed it for breakfast as well. It’s a perfect treat for a birthday brunch with a friend.
It’s the way to go if you like the flavor of pumpkin, but necessarily the super smooth texture of pumpkin puree itself. It can be a bit soft. But in bread pudding? All the flavor and none of the texture issues. Served warm with piping hot praline sauce? You will have died and gone to warm, cozy, comfort food heaven.
Fall deliciousness personified.
Happy pumpkin everything, y’all!
