Bready or Not: (Pumpkin) Bread Pudding
When I visited home for the week of the 4th of July, I wanted to make something special for my 90-year-old grandma. Like me, her favorite dessert in the world is bread pudding. Therefore, I set out to make her the best possible bread pudding.
Complication: her diet is pretty restrictive these days. She can’t eat most fruits. Nor does she need super-sweet toppings that will mess with her blood sugar.
I found a recipe at Will Cook For Smiles that fulfilled a lot of my needs. It produced a small batch. It included pumpkin puree, but in a small amount that I figured could be omitted without destroying the recipe. I could switch in almond milk for my own taste-testing comfort.
I also loved that the base recipe used King’s Hawaiian Rolls, which are pretty much the only type of store-bought bread I will still eat. It’s awesome. However, because I was going to be in my hometown, that presented another option. Central California has a large Portuguese community, and there’s an amazing Portuguese bakery less than a mile from my parents’ house. Their sweet bread is one of the most divine things on the planet.
I took my trusty kitchen scale to California so I could measure exactly 12 ounces of sweet bread, the equivalent of a pack of Hawaiian rolls. That ended up being about 2/3 of a loaf.
I prepared the bread pudding, tucked it in the fridge, then baked it after lunch. It cooked in exactly 45 minutes. We let it cool awhile before we dug in. I thought it was just about perfect with a drizzle of maple syrup over the top. It was surprisingly light and spongy–not heavy at all like some bread puddings.
However, the most important thing was my grandma’s reaction. She declared this to be the best bread pudding she had ever had, and she’s tried quite a few bread puddings in her day. Grandma was thrilled to have this as a dessert and breakfast for a few days, and said it was even better cold straight from the fridge.
I declare this recipe a win.
Bready or Not: (Pumpkin) Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups milk almond milk works
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree optional
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 12 ounces sweet bread such as a pack of King's Hawaiian Rolls or partial loaf of Portuguese sweet bread
Instructions
- The day before, set the bread out to go stale, if desired. For a chewier result, use fresh bread.
- Preheat the oven at 350-degrees (if you're baking this promptly). Grease an 8x8 casserole dish. Cut the 12 ounces of bread into chunks. Melt the butter.
- In a medium bowl, combine the milk, eggs, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin puree (if using) and vanilla. Whisk until all ingredients are combined.
- Spread the bread evenly within the dish. Pour the milk mixture over it. Press the bread in lightly to make sure nothing is dry. (If you're making this ahead of time, cover with foil and set in fridge for several hours.)
- Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serve hot, at room temperature, or straight from the fridge! Top with maple or agave syrup, nuts, whipped cream, caramel sauce, or fruit or nut butter. Anything is good. Plus, leftovers can be chopped into serving-size squares and frozen.
OM NOM NOM!
Fall Recipes
It’s pumpkin time! And squash and apple time! Plus, it’s legitimately maple time. Last year I gathered my past fall recipes. Now that my recipe content is split between BethCato.com and LiveJournal, I really wanted to post those recipes again. The list now includes the 2013 posts, too.
Mini Pumpkin Donuts with Maple Glaze
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Pumpkin-Molasses Freezer Pie with Ginger Snap Crust
Maple Spritz Cookies
Pumpkin Pie Bars
Maple Fudge Bites
Pumpkin Gnocchi
Pumpkin Poppers
Overnight Crock Pot Apple Butter
Butternut Squash & Chickpea Salad with Almond Butter Dressing
Pumpkin chocolate chip brownies
Pumpkin-applesauce bundt cake
Candy corn cookies
Halloween party bundt cake (cake mix)
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin cranberry breakfast cookies
Pumpkin roll bars
Pumpkin spice smoothie
Also, on Pinterest I have a wide array of boards including a Bready or Not board and a pumpkin board where I try to list the amount of puree each recipe calls for. It probably won’t surprise you that I have a devoted space for maple recipes, too.
Read MoreLinks of the Week
I’m still wandering about the internet, though not in the frantic style I was a few weeks ago (thank goodness!). I’ve actually been working on FICTION again. It feels good! These past few days, I tore apart a story I wrote back in August, one I mentally worked on for months because the subject matter intimidated me. That makes me feel even more accomplished now that it’s coming together.
I wrote another new story at the end of September, too. That one is being critiqued right now. I hope to start work on those edits soon. I love this later stage of revisions… once I figure out what I’m doing.
New poetry publications:
– “Grandfather and Granddaughter (Age 5),” Devilfish Review
– “Nisei” and “Seeds” (reprinted), Mythic Delirium Anthology; available in all formats
Socializing in happily geeky ways:
– SF Signal: Words We Learned From Genre Fiction
FOOOOOOOD:
– Over at the Holy Taco Church, I amp up the pumpkin spice goodness with Pumpkin Cheesecake Sopapillas, which use fast ingredients from the store.
Guest blogging about the book:
– “Romance in the Clockwork Dagger” at Reading Between the Wines
Really nice mentions of the book:
– Tor.com: Sleeps With Monsters: Books, Redux by Liz Bourke with a lovely mini review
Bready or Not: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread (2 Loaves)
I declare this recipe to be just about perfect. Oh yeah, it tastes good, too.
I love recipes that use up a full can of pumpkin. It makes things tidy. No worries about measuring it or stashing a bag in the freezer. Even more, this recipe makes TWO loaves of bread. Serve one, save the rest for later! Or serve them both. These things are easy to eat. They might go fast.
Why, you ask? The bread ends up tender and delicious. Kept chilled in the fridge, it doesn’t get horribly tacky as some pumpkin baked goods do.
I made this using shortening instead of oil, chopped pecans for the nuts, and Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips, but the recipe has a good bit of flexibility. You could even do one loaf plain, the other loaded!
As for me, I looooooove Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips. They are big and luscious, plus I love supporting a California company.
I found this recipe in my King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion Cookbook but it is also shown on their website as Easy Pumpkin Bread. Take a look at that star rating! I’m not the only one to fall in love with this recipe.
Bready or Not: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread (2 Loaves)
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil or 2/3 cup shortening
- 2 2/3 cups white sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 15 ounce pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 2/3 cup water
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans optional
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips could also substitute chopped candied ginger, golden raisins, cranberries, etc
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9x5 loaf pans.
- In a large bowl, beat together the oil/shortening, sugar, eggs, pumpkin, and water.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and vanilla, stirring to combine. Mix in the chips and nuts, or whatever add-ins you choose.
- Spoon batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake the bread for 60 to 80 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack. When it's completely cool, use a knife to loosen the loaves and plop them out. Wrap bread in plastic wrap and store it overnight before serving.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake
Let’s carry September’s Cake Month into October as I start the annual autumn theme of pumpkin, maple, and other seasonal flavors!
Most of the stuff I bake goes with my husband along to his work. Lo and behold, a few of his co-workers eat gluten-free. I hate for people to feel left out. Therefore, I try to mix in some GF goodies every so often.
Baking gluten-free can be rather intimidating. The stuff is expensive, and even worse, some of it tastes BAD. As in, scrub-out-your-mouth-with-a-toilet-brush bad. I also worried about cross-contamination. My kitchen is pretty much saturated in gluten.
I prowled around for good pumpkin cake recipes and I found this one at King Arthur Flour. Their recipes are very reliable. I modified it slightly. I used a Bob’s Red Mill GF Vanilla Cake Mix here, as Bob’s mixes and flours are pretty darn good. I also used my own maple glaze, because, well, MAPLE!
The end result was an absolutely delicious cake. It tasted totally normal–no one would suspect it was gluten-free!
Modified from the recipe at King Arthur Flour, with my own glaze.
Bready or Not: Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
Cake ingredients:
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 3 Tablespoons molasses
- 15 oz pumpkin purée
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 gluten free cake mix yellow, vanilla, or white (recommend King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill)
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or substitute 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Maple Glaze ingredients:
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon maple flavor
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons milk almond milk works!, more as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Thoroughly grease a 10-cup Bundt pan.
- Whisk together the eggs, molasses, pumpkin purée, and oil. Set aside.
- In another big bowl, combine the cake mix, cornstarch, baking soda, and spice(s).
- Stir the wet and dry mixtures together until smooth and pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake the cake for 60 to 65 minutes, until it passes the crumb test.
- Remove the cake from the oven, let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out of the pan to cool completely on a rack.
- Dust the cake with confectioners' sugar, or make the maple glaze. Combine the glaze ingredients, adding more sugar or milk for desired texture. Drizzle over cake.
OM NOM NOM!
