This fantastic dessert is perfect for the cool months of late fall and winter. Cubes of tender pumpkin bread are baked in a rich custard laced with bourbon and maple syrup. Crisp apple cider is the base of a buttery caramel sauce spiced with fresh ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and star anise. Forget about serving the same-old pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and put this out instead for a new twist on two old classics. The recipe includes directions for making your own pumpkin bread to use in the pudding, but you can of course also use a loaf of pumpkin bread from your favorite bakery. Brioche or cinnamon-raisin bread would also work perfectly.
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
Step 1
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter a 10-inch glass baking dish.
Step 2
2. Spread the bread cubes on a large baking sheet and bake in the oven, turning once, until lightly toasted, about 15 minutes. Let cool.
Step 3
3. Combine the cream, milk, and vanilla bean and seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
Step 4
4. Whisk together the yolks, sugar, maple syrup, and pumpkin puree in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the hot cream mixture until combined. Discard the vanilla bean and whisk in the bourbon.
Step 5
5. Scatter the pumpkin bread cubes in the prepared baking dish. Pour the custard over the bread, pressing down on the bread to totally submerge it in the custard. Let sit for 15 minutes to allow the bread to soak up some of the custard.
Step 6
6. Place the dish in a larger roasting pan and pour hot water into the roasting pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the glass dish. Bake until the sides are slightly puffed and the center jiggles slightly, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and the water bath and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Step 7
7. Serve the warm bread pudding topped with whipped cream and drizzled withspicy caramel apple sauce. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds if desired.
How would you rate Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce?
Leave a Review
Reviews (13)
Back to Topi enjoy just how this recipe looks i eaten it before with my children most of us enjoyed this we may have a household gathering again and cook this recipe again soon that is one tasty recipe you should test it i guarantee you all you could will require to this its very tasty
sarah12jones212212312
2/3/2014
I made this as written with the exception of reducing the sugar to about 2/3 of the amount called for and my family raved about it. It was a hands down favorite, e ven for my very picky nephew. It was time consuming and will be a special occasion dessert. The recipe made way too much caramel sauce for just the bread pudding so we have used it on apple pie, ice cream and pancakes - all to fabulous reviews!
jjersmom
Reisterstown, Md.
12/2/2013
I am trying all the pumkin recipes I can get my hands on this year! LOVE, love, love pumkin and bread pudding. I just finished trying this dish, luckily just a trial, not for guests, because I wasn't satisfied witht the final appearance or taste. I did not have enough time to make the pumpkin bread, so I used a lightly sweet Hawaiin bread. Also, used half/half instead of heavy cream (that seemed just too decadent). We found the bread pudding good--nice flavor, not too sweet, and nicely creamy. The sauce, however... Did use apple cider instead of juice as I had it on hand. Didn't have schnapps so I used Apple Jack. I wasn't prepared for the cream to curdle with the apple cider addition, found that texture unpleasant (did I goof?). Also, the sauce was WAY too sweet. And, yes, I did use it sparingly but the sweetness overwhelmed all that good spice.. If I made it again, I would likely try to reduce the sweetness, perhaps use a different carmel recipe, adding the spices from this one. I have hopes that it'll improve with time, as some things do! Will be tasting the leftovers tomorrow!
ksadamson
Idaho
11/11/2013
Oh my goodness... we didn't have cream on hand, so I made the pudding with 2% milk. Making the custard first and pouring it on the bread made the smoothest-textured bread pudding I've ever had. Amazing. I made it with plain white bread, not pumpkin bread, so it wasn't all that sweet-it definitely benefited from a sweet sauce.
megmuck
boston ma
3/23/2013
I cheated and used a Krusteaz pumpkin bread box mix and my dessert still turned out incredibly well. I used Calvados in both the caramel sauce and the bread pudding which melded really well with the pumpkin. People who were not actually at my dinner party are now asking me to make this for them because they heard how good it was!
anniestoner
Los Altos, CA
12/1/2012
This was a real hit! I doubled the recipe and made a small loaf and a larger loaf; we enjoyed the small loaf just as bread and I cut the large loaf into cubes that I let dry out for a day and a half. Followed the bread pudding recipe to a "t" (omitting the bourbon only) and it was terrific. Only used cinnamon and nutmeg in the caramel sauce and omitted the alcohol there as well. Yum! I'm making this again today for a friend (will lace hers with the bourbon), and have sent the recipe to two other friends. Definitely a winner!
A_Cook_from_Creston
11/24/2012
This was a delicious and impressive addition to our Thanksgiving table. I'd give it 3.5 forks if I could, but there are a few suggestions I'd make: The recipe is quite time-consuming with many components. I do recommend making the bread from scratch with the attached recipe as it is very good, but make it in advance, if you can, to spread out some of the work. I added some additional spices to the bread, 1/4 tsp each of ground ginger and ground cardamom. As other reviewers have noted, the final product is quite sweet. I reduced the sugar in the bread by 1/4C but next time I would reduce the recipe's overall content by a total of 1/2C, probably by cutting an additional 1/4C from the custard. As it relates to that, serve with freshly whipped but unsweetened cream; anything else will just make it cloying. I used Honey Jack in place of the bourbon and it added great flavor and depth without tasting at all of alcohol. The caramel sauce was amazing but it was looser than I expected, so not sure if I undercooked it or what. Instead of the pumpkin seeds, I served with dried cranberries that I plumped in warmed Apple Calvados. The tartness was a nice contrast to the sweetness of the pudding.
aallen
Las Vegas
11/23/2012
I haven't made the pudding yet (I'm doing that on Friday), but I have routinely made the pumpkin bread recipe that goes with this. DELICIOUS! I serve it warm with a scoop of Blue Bunny Homemade Vanilla ice cream (read the contents of that one, no preservatives, just whatever we'd use to make it at home).
HeidioftheRockies1
10/10/2012
It's a real pet peeve of mine when someone gives the amount of certain ingredients by volume when it's more appropriate to have them by weight. Case in point, this recipe: 8 cups pumpkin bread? How about giving them in ounces? Even bread in grocery store aisles list their servings in ounces. Robert Flay should know better.
seahorse13401
La Jolla, CA
10/2/2012
My only criticism is that mine does not look as pretty as the picture. The pumpkin bread comes out pretty dark creating more a brown pudding than an orangey one. But other than that, this recipe is absolutely delicious. Just make the bread a day or two ahead and then it's not so time-consuming to assemble the pudding.
Anonymous
Dublin, CA
12/30/2011
This was very good bread pudding. I did use another recipe for the pumpkin bread. I served this for Thanksgiving topped with the caramel sauce and mincemeat ice cream. The fruit and pecans in the ice cream added a nice element to the dish.
jrussell1
Georgia
11/29/2011
在多天的努力,这是值得的。I followed the recipe, except to reduce the amount of sugar in the pumpkin bread to about 3/4 cup since a number of people on the FN site wrote it was too sweet overall. It made the most sense to reduce the pumpkin bread's sugar since most bread puddings are made with regular, unsweeted bread and the custard and sauces would be enough. I made the pumpkin bread several days in advance so it would dry out some. I made not only the Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce to accompany, but also the vanilla creme anglaise that is published with the FN recipe from last year's Throwdown. With the sweetness of the caramel and anglaise, the reduced sugar in the bread wasn't noticed at all. If you don't mind recipes that use up every saucepan you own, this one is for you. It isn't simple but can be broken up, with the sauces made the day before. Loved it!
mswindycty
Chicago
11/24/2011
I was skeptical about using a quick bread for bread pudding because I typically like something really crusty that retains a lot of body, but... wow this was good! I was a little distracted by my toddlers while I was baking, and I completely forgot about the water bath. I'm guessing the purpose of the bath is to prevent curdling, but the recipe turned out great without it. My family was so-so on the caramel sauce, so I probably wouldn't bother next time. As delicious as this dessert was, we liked it even better cold for breakfast the next morning.
jdivided
St Petersburg, FL
11/22/2011
