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Archive for October 22nd, 2009

Pumpkin Spice Bread Pudding with Rummy Raisins

I didn’t actually make this today-what I did make was somewhere in the vicinity of 400 desserts for a private event, but I’ll tell you about that later. What I do want to tell you about is a wonderful pumpkin bread pudding I made earlier this year, far before the onset of pumpkin season, for a little article in a small magazine. It was a story about some of my favourite food bloggers with kids, including Aimée Bourque of Under the High Chair, and because it was for a fall issue, I requested something seasonal from her. She sent me the recipe for her Pumpkin Spice Bread Pudding with Rummy Raisins.

What does this all have to do with today? Well, today I got a very sweet email from Aimée, politely pointing out that the baking instructions were missing from the recipe. Which should have been caught by the editors, but ultimately looks like my fault-I was doing all this while we were in Tofino on my old craptop, and this looks like a case of two different drafts on two different computers. In any case, I feel badly that the baking instructions were left out; although no one has emailed to point out the error -some may have figured out how to actually bake their bread pud and realized it’s not a weird form of soggy unbaked bread pudding sashimi she served her kids- here is the complete recipe.

I left out the tonka bean, thinking it’s something not many if you would have on hand. Being at the cabin I had access to only shakeable cinnamon (and no spice grinder) and it worked just fine-I skipped the allspice and the rum, and used a whack of leftover bread ends we had around-including raisin bread, which fit right in. Of course you don’t need to go buy brioche especially to make this (and if you do, please don’t just let it sit and go stale! Eat some while it’s fresh) but it is wonderful in a bread pud.

Thanks Aimée! And sorry.

Pumpkin Spice Bread Pudding with Rummy Raisins

thanks to Aimée Bourque of Under the High Chair for this recipe!

Unsalted butter, room temperature, for ramekins
½ cup sugar, for dissolving
1 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup rum
1/3 cup hot water
1 1/12 cups firm pumpkin puree
4 large eggs
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
1 ½ cups milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ inch fresh cinnamon stick
Three whole allspice
½ tonka bean (optional)
Pinch of salt
One 12-ounce, day-old loaf brioche cut into 3/4-inch cubes (or desired size)
Whipping cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter six 10-ounce ramekins or custard cups.

In a small, heavy bottomed pot, carefully dissolve 1/2 cup sugar and cook until golden, stirring occasionally. Divide evenly among ramekins to coat the bottom and allow to cool.

Place raisins in a small bowl, and cover with rum and the hot water; let soak until plump, about 20 minutes. Drain; set aside.

Combine cinnamon stick, whole allspice and tonka bean in a spice grinder and grind until fine.

In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, eggs, granulated sugar, milk, ginger, vanilla, spice mix, and salt. Toss in the bread cubes, and stir gently to evenly coat; let stand a few minutes.

Fold in the raisins. Divide among prepared dishes, pressing down slightly to make level. Bake until custard is set in the center and top is golden, about 40 minutes. If bread browns too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Remove from oven and run a sharp knife around the edges; let cool slightly. To serve, un-mold onto plates; serve with sweetened whipped cream. It is entirely up to you if you wish to spike the cream or not!