Pumpkin Bread Pudding = Custardy Deliciousness

I have discovered bread pudding!

For whatever reason, I always thought it would be heavy and dense and like a rock in your stomach. Then I thought about it. It's basically bread soaked in custard and baked. Sounds like baked French toast. How bad could that be?

I asked an American co-worker, has he ever eaten bread pudding? What is it like? His answer ("It's moist and custardy, like French toast!") gave me the encouragement I needed to try this recipe.

The source of this recipe is the same as the Jewish Honey Cake featured a few posts ago: Kathleen King (of Tate's Bake Shop) via her monthly recipe newsletter. I usually just tuck these recipes away in my "Recipes" e-mail folder, but the recipes from these past two months' e-mails demanded to be made immediately.

The chilly weather recently heralded the beginning of pumpkin massacre by baking throughout kitchens all over the US. This recipe gave me a great opportunity to participate in the bloodshed and make the house smell like pumpkin pie.

How did it taste? Like the most decadent, moist French toast you could ever imagine, topped with crunchy pecans. It was waaaaaay too easy to scarf down a few large blocks of the custardy goodness. So...no, not heavy and dense after all.


Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding (adapted from Kathleen King of Tate's Bake Shop)

Ingredients:
6 eggs
3 cups heavy cream (I used half-and-half)
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup sugar (original recipe had 1 cup; it seemed way too sweet to me, so I took it down)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4-5 cups bread, cubed (French baguette or brioche or plain white--if using a soft white bread, soak for just a few hours instead of overnight)

3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Instructions:
Spread the cubes of bread in an even layer on the bottom of a 9x9 inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs to break them up. Add the cream (or half-and-half), maple syrup, sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, vanilla, and salt. Whisk everything together until combined evenly. Pour mixture carefully over bread cubes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate a few hours (for softer breads) to overnight (for stiffer breads).

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Take soaked bread out of fridge and uncover. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over the top, press them into the mixture, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until knife inserted comes out clean and no liquid leaks out. (Do not be alarmed if the pudding puffs up during baking; it will deflate over time as it sets.)

Serve warm, with maple syrup or ice cream!