Fluffy brioche soaked with pumpkin custard, topped with pumpkin creme anglaise. Fresh pumpkin throughout and richly spiced—this is not your typical, dowdy bread pudding. Warning: you will want seconds. And thirds.

How this came into being…

When you get married, you have a few choices with holidays. You can pull a Four Christmases and avoid everyone, and I won’t judge if that’s what you need to do for your mental health. Or, you may switch off year to year, giving one family your full attention each holiday.

Then there are the marathoners. You do all the things, see all the people.

That was us, pre-baby. And honestly, I started despising holidays because of it. One year we drove 200 miles between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, celebrating at five different functions.

But babies are great excuses.

Lately, we’ve started spreading out the holidays. So when we started last year’s Thanksgiving the weekend before, I was actually excited to bake for and attend this event. I even made two things. My apple pie was tasty but an ugly mess. Confession: despite this website’s name, I struggle making pretty pies.

But man oh man was my pumpkin bread pudding amazing.

I wandered the store, reading my inspiration recipes, looking at photos, reading Wikipedia descriptions, agonizing over which ingredients to use. In the end, I very much paved my own course with this dessert and am so glad I did. That’s what happens when the stress is taken out of the holiday. You can pour more of yourself into it and maybe, just maybe, bake something amazing.

I chose to make pumpkin bread pudding because it’s become an annual tradition to go to our favorite restaurant—the one where we had our rehearsal dinner (aw)—and get their seasonal fall dessert: pumpkin bread pudding. So this year I decided it’s time I learn to make it so we can have it whenever we want. Which will now be all the time.

How to make pumpkin bread pudding

You can make the pumpkin crème anglaise ahead of time or right before you serve it. I prefer making it ahead so the flavors meld together (and so I can make a big batch and use the extras in my coffee).

Chop or tear your bread into roughly 1” cubes. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 300 for about 5-10 minutes, until toasty and golden. This takes the place of using stale bread and creates structure and texture, so don’t skip it!

Mix the pumpkin, eggs, sugar, and spices until smooth then slowly whisk in the milk. If you pour the milk in too quickly, you may have to blend everything in the blender or with an immersion blender, which works just as well.

Melt the butter and drizzle it over the toasted bread. Toss gently to combine.

Add your bread and custard mixture to a bowl and gently toss to combine.

Pour into your baking pan (here you see an 8x4 because it’s my birthday today and I had to eat up the bread pudding to justify the giant cake we got today. #firstworldproblems). Refrigerate for an hour or two. I’ve done overnight, but it did get a little mushy, so I suggest only a couple hours.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until it puffs up and the custard is mostly set (not jiggly) or a toothpick/skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. The top should be golden brown. Don’t let it burn!

Let cool to room temperature. Make (or reheat) pumpkin crème anglaise and pour over each serving (don’t add it until serving, as any leftovers will get soggy if they have crème anglaise on them already).

Enjoy!

Tips for this dessert

Use brioche or challah bread

Most recipes I’ve seen call for stale French bread. The whole point to letting the bread get stale (usually by chopping and leaving out for up to a day) is that it will absorb more custard and create a sturdy pudding. But why would I do this when a sweet, dense, sturdy bread already exists??? Brioche is ideal, because it will not crumble or turn to mush in bread pudding. Plus its natural sweetness pairs perfectly with this dessert.

Soak the pudding overnight

I read through a lot of recipes to get a firm handle on the world of bread pudding. I think a commenter on one recipe said she let hers soak for 5 hours and loved it. So I figured, why not overnight? I mean, when your baking hours are limited to “after the toddler goes to bed”, you can’t exactly sit around for 5 hours waiting to bake your dessert. So, into the fridge it went while into bed I went. I baked it first thing in the morning and let it cool enough for transport. Best call I’ve made in the kitchen in years.

I wouldn’t soak this longer than 8 hours, as that will actually give it time to dry out. Wanna know why people tend to lump bread pudding in with fruitcake? They’re both dry (among other things). The first step toward a moist bread pudding is letting it soak thoroughly without drying out.

Make it with my crème anglaise

If you’re lazy like me, you’re probably already wondering if you can cut any corners with this dessert. But it’s honestly SO EASY TO MAKE that a few minutes for creme anglaise is nothing.

—>Oh, by the way, creme anglaise is literally just French for English cream. It’s like the gravy of dessert. The base recipe is just simmering milk and vanilla tempered into eggs yolks and sugar then cooked all together for a few minutes. I added pumpkin purée and pumpkin spices.

The result is a refreshing, creamy sauce that adds just the right amount of moisture and flavor to this bread pudding. Plus, it’s how they do it on all the baking shows I watch.

Ingredients are not super strict

I wrote the recipe for what tasted good to me (and everyone in my family). If you use one more or less egg, a little more spices, more milk—it’s probably going to still be good. Here are some notes on specific ingredients in the recipe:

*You can use any combination of milk, cream, or half and half. I used what I had, but you can make a lighter custard with all milk or a richer one with more cream. I can’t vouch for skim milk or milk alternatives though.
**I used 5 eggs because I was just so tired after making multiple desserts. Most recipes call for eggs and yolks, and I switched 4 eggs and 2 yolks for 5 whole eggs, knowing the volume would be roughly the same. You could sub one egg for two yolks and likely get a nicely rich, silky custard.
***If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make some. I usually go with the following ratios of ground spices: 3-4 parts cinnamon, 2 parts ginger, 1 part cloves, 1 part allspice, 1 part nutmeg. I also like to wing it, depending on what I feel like. If making a large batch, a “part” should be a teaspoon. If you just need enough for this recipe, a “part” can be 1/4 teaspoon.

Don’t fill your pan to the tippy top

If you’re like me, you’ll want the most bang for your buck. And after making this once, you may be trying to cram as much pudding into one pan as you can so you can have even more to enjoy. But it’s best to leave about 1/2 inch of space for the pudding to rise in the oven.

Custard should come nearly to the top of your bread cubes

Yeah I don’t have much to say about this. The custard won’t really rise, especially if you soak it for several hours before baking. And the bread/custard portion at the bottom is the best part of this dessert. So if you use a different size pan or halve the recipe, just be sure the custard reaches near the top of the bread layer. This isn’t the time to skimp or try to “save calories”. Baking burns calories. Probably.

You might also like:

• Maple Spice Pumpkin Bread

• Apple Pie Cake

• Pumpkin Monster Cookies

• Caramel Apple Crumble Tart