~ Pumpkin Bourbon Bread Pudding ~

Give yourself plenty of time to prepare.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole milk (or 1 cup heavy cream + 1/2 cup whole milk)
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground allspice
pinch of ground cloves
2 tbsps bourbon
5 cups day-old baguette or crusty bread, cubed 1-inch
6 tbsps (3 oz.) unsalted butter, melted

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Toss the bread together with the butter in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk the pumpkin, milk (and cream if using), sugar, eggs, egg yolk, salt, spices and bourbon in another large bowl. Pour the pumpkin custard over the bread cubes and toss to coat. Pour into an 8-inch square baking dish and bake 25 to 30 minutes until custard sets. Serve the pumpkin bread pudding with or without the bourbon vanilla custard sauce (recipe below). Serves 6-8.

Vanilla Bourbon Sauce
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 tbsps sugar
6 egg yolks
2 tbsps bourbon (or more)

Directions: Heat the milk and cream in a medium saucepan until boiling. Remove from heat. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the hot cream. Add the vanilla pod. Cover and steep for an hour. Remove the vanilla pod and reheat the cream until just boiling. Remove from heat. Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together in a medium bowl. Temper the yolks by whisking in a few tablespoons of the hot cream at a time until you’ve incorporated about half of the cream. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with the remaining hot cream/milk and stir over medium heat until the custard thickens. Remove from heat. Let cool. Stir in the bourbon. Makes 2 cups.  Let me know when you have this prepared and I will be over to taste test!  ~ Chef ~