pumpkin pound pudding

25Nov08

I know I haven’t written here in a while, but then I got a comment from Stef at the Cupcake Project, which is the first comment I’ve received from someone whose recipes I’ve made. (Still waiting, Paula Deen.) Then I felt bad, because her comment raised the possibility that maybe people are reading my blog and feeling disappointed about the lack of updates. Um, maybe. (I thought about trying NaBloPoMo again this year, but I’ve been doing that with a side project.)

Anyway, all the cool food blogs are doing Thanksgiving collections, but I’m not going to pretend that I have enough recipes for that. But I CAN offer a terrific seasonal leftover recipe: Pumpkin Pound Pudding.

This actually started its life as a bread pudding recipe. As it happened, however, we had a few cups of pound cake scraps on hand (from the most delicious Italian cream cake recipe ever – but I’m sworn to secrecy so I can never post it, sorry). We also had a bit of leftover pumpkin pie filling, which was an ingredient in a dip we recently made. Miguk Momma would NEVER use premade pie filling for her actual pie, which is why we had leftovers.

Anyway, I took those two materials and added them to a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated, which rarely steers me wrong. Result? The pumpkin added an earthiness and spice to the custard, while remaining subtle enough to appeal to people who aren’t squash fans. The pound cake gave the recipe a nice sweet richness. I was a little concerned that it might disintegrate, but it held up nicely – although I’m sure that, since the recipe actually calls for bread, you could sub that in if you had it.

One last note: I actually cut the recipe in half. If you want to double it, just use a 9×13 pan.

pros uses up leftovers, easy to make

cons none

Pumpkin Pound Pudding

adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

If you don’t have pumpkin pie filling, plain pumpkin should work equally well. Just add a few shakes of cinnamon and a few extra gratings of nutmeg (maybe 1/2 tsp of each).

serves 4-6

CINNAMON SUGAR

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

BREAD PUDDING

• 3 large eggs
  
• 3/8 c sugar
• 1/2 c pumpkin pie filling
  
• 1 1/4 c milk
  
• 1 1/4 c heavy cream
• 1 tbsp apple juice (nb: Cook’s called for bourbon, which would also work well with the pumpkin)
  
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 c day-old pound cake or good-quality bread
  
• 3/4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing pan
• zest from half a lemon
  

1. FOR THE CINNAMON SUGAR: Mix sugar and cinnamon in small bowl; set aside.

2. FOR THE PUDDING: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter 9×9-inch baking dish.

3. Whisk eggs, yolk, and sugar in large bowl to blend well. Whisk in pie filling, milk, cream, apple juice, vanilla extract, nutmeg, lemon zest, and salt. Stir in 3 1/4 c pound cake cubes; mix thoroughly to moisten. Let stand 20 minutes.

4. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Scatter remaining 3/4 cup bread pieces on top, pushing down gently to partially submerge. Brush exposed bread with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake until pudding is deep golden brown, is beginning to rise up sides of baking dish, and jiggles very slightly at the center when shaken, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool until set but still warm, about 45 minutes. Serve.

Filed under: dessert, holidays, sweet   |  1 Comment
Tags: bread pudding, dessert, recipes, Thanksgiving