J. and I love bread pudding. Dense, solid bread pudding. None of this light, fluffy, airy stuff. So when it came time for his birthday party this year, I decided to make an autumnal flavor bread pudding to go along with his favorite chocolate birthday cake. And thank goodness I made 2 desserts. The cake was gone in seconds, it was like locusts invaded!
My favorite bread to use for bread pudding is King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread. It's light, sweet, and really soaks up the custard nicely, leaving that dense texture I'm looking for. For those who have only seen the rolls in small packages, which is all you get around here, they make 1 pound round loaves (actually the original form). Other sweet breads work well too, like challah or brioche. And when I've got a lot of leftover, stale bread of any type, I'll use it for bread pudding and it works fine. I usually go by the weight of the bread, not the volume, when changing types.
This bread pudding definitely improves after a day and is great cold. The sweetness and spices come through much better. I served it warm out of the oven and it was okay, but the next day out of the fridge? Fantastic!
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
1 pound loaf Hawaiian sweet bread, 3/4" cubed (about 16 cups)
5 large eggs
12 ounces evaporated milk
1 cup milk
15 ounces pumpkin puree (1-3/4 cups)
5-1/3 ounces brown sugar (3/4 cup, 150 g)
1-3/4 ounces sugar (1/4 cup, 50 g)
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into little cubes
Lightly toast the bread in a 350° oven just to dry it out.
In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients except bread and butter until well combined. Stir in toasted bread cubes. Transfer to a 9" x 13" baking dish. Let rest for at least 1 hour or cover and chill overnight. Sprinkle butter cubes over the top.
Preheat oven to 350°. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, until set.
