Pumpkin Bread Pudding

In the Newsday (The Long Island Newspaper) food section, December 7^th, 2014.  This recipe for Pumpkin Bread Pudding, came from The Culinary Institute of American’s Chef Bill gave his tips on how to safely bake in a water bath at usaweekend.com.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding Recipe

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

3 ½ cups heavy cream

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp. vanilla extract)

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp. ginger

¼ tsp. nutmeg

9 egg yolks

15 cups ½ inch cubes challah bread, from two small loaves

 

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cream, pumpkin puree, salt and half of the sugar and bring to a simmer with a wooden spoon.  Remove from heat.

Use a paring knife to split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds from the pod.  Add the bean and the seeds from the pan, along with the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.  Cover the pan and allow to steep for 15 minutes.

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.  Meanwhile, in a medium-size bowl, combine the egg yolks with the remaining sugar.  Once the mixture in the pot comes to a boil, while whisking the egg yolks constantly, add about one-third of the hot mixture to the yolks to warm them.  Whisk in the remaining cream mixture.  If necessary, strain the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove any egg solids.

Preheat oven to 350 F. and lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.  Place the cubed bread in a large bowl, and pour the cream-and-egg mixture over the bread.  Toss until the bread is coated, then transfer to the prepared pan.  Allow the mixture to soak for about 30 minutes before placing the preheated oven.  Bake until custard is set and the top of pudding is a light golden brown, about 30 minutes.

 

(Recipe for Pumpkin Bread Pudding was in USA Weekend, December 7, 2014)