This post has been sponsored by High Road Ice Cream. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bread Pudding – Cubed chunks of french bread soaked in a pumpkin custard, dusted with cinnamon sugar, and baked. Served with stellar Vanilla Fleur de Sel ice cream from High Road Ice Cream
Thanksgiving is getting closer and closer each day. Are you just as excited about it as I am?! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because, well, food. And you know I love my food.
Today’s recipe is the perfect addition to any menu during the holidays – Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, you name it!
But before we get to the recipe, let’s talk about my favorite ice cream of all time, which we’ll be pairing with this recipe: High Road Ice Cream. They coin themselves “luxury ice cream” and I can assure you that’s exactly right. They have incredible chef-inspired flavors that combine all your favorite things into one killer pint, which is evident in their flavors, like Cherry Almond Chip and Bourbon Burnt Sugar. Their ice creams have been a favorite of mine ever since I moved to Atlanta. But now you can get it all over the country. Make sure to use their store locator to find a pint near you!
For today’s recipe, we’re going to be pairing it with classic vanilla ice cream. But High Road’s Vanilla Fleur de Sel is anything but boring due to the boost of flavor it gets from the fleur de sel (French for sea salt). It helps bring out the best part of the vanilla bean and balance out the richness in the creamy base. Yummmm.
Okay, enough with the teasing. Today’s recipe is obviously one that pairs well with ice cream and, as previously mentioned, it’s perfect for this holidays. Are you ready for it??
Say hello to my Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bread Pudding!
Bread pudding was one of the first desserts I learn to make, probably because of how easy it is. All you do is cube some crusty bread, soak it in a custard base (eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla), let the bread soak up the custard for a few hours, and then bake. Annnnnd voila! You have a delicious bread pudding.
Bread pudding is traditionally made with raisins or nuts, but this version is jazzed up a bit for the fall. I’ve replaced the raisins with pumpkin puree and added a blend of pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger). And just like that, you have another delicious way to get you pumpkin fix!
But wait…there’s more! As if this bread pudding wasn’t incredible enough, before it gets baked, we top it with cinnamon sugar to create a yummy snickerdoodle crust. Yup, I went there.
Bread pudding is always served with a topping – whether it be vanilla ice cream or a rich yum sauce. I think a rum sauce can be too sweet and overpowering so that’s not the direction I went with this dessert.
As I mentioned above, I chose to use the High Road Vanilla Fleur de Sel to top this bread pudding. I love the combination of cool ice cream on top of a warm bread pudding. Plus, the sea salt in the vanilla ice cream add the perfect balance to this otherwise sweet dessert.
Bread pudding is incredibly easy to do so there are not many tips to share. But don’t worry – I still have a couple!
- Make sure you use crusty bread so that it can soak up all the custard. If you use fluffy bread with barely any crust, it will get too soggy and the bread pudding will be mushy and gross.
- The bread pudding needs time to soak up all the custard. So if you’re making the bread pudding for dinner, I recommend starting the bread pudding in the morning, and letting it sit in the fridge until it’s time to bake.
This dessert is gonna be such a hit at Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hannukah/[insert holiday dinner here] this year! And what makes it even better is you won’t have to slave away for hours to make it 😉
Don’t forget to pick up a pint of High Road Vanilla Fleur de Sel to serve with this bread pudding. Plus, a couple extra to enjoy on a Friday night. Because you know you wanna.
Here are all the kitchen tools and serveware that I used in today’s recipe. For each item sold below, I make a small commission. I only recommend items that I own and love so you can trust that each recommendation is tried and true. Thank you for supporting CPA!
Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bread Pudding
Ingredients
For the bread pudding:
- 6 large eggs
- 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (about 1.5 cups)
- 2 cups half and half
- 1 cup milk
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup dark rum (optional - use more milk instead, if desired)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 12-ounce loaf french bread
- High Road Fleur de Sel Vanilla Ice Cream for serving
For the topping:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Prepare 9x13 baking dish by greasing with butter. Slice French bread into 2 inch slices and then cube. Place all cubes into prepared dish. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add eggs, pumpkin puree, half and half, milk, sugars, rum, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Whisk together to combine.
- Pour mixture evenly over the cubed bread. Gently fold to coat all the bread. Press down with the back of the spatula to push bread into the custard. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 5 hours and no more than 24 hours. We need this time to make sure the bread soaks up all the custard.
- Once the pudding has set, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cinnamon and sugar together for the topping. Dust pudding with cinnamon sugar topping. Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, or until it's no longer jiggling. Remove from oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.
- Scoop or slice bread pudding into 12 portions. Top with High Road Fleur de Sel Vanilla Ice Cream and serve immediately.
Notes
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Emma says
I am a sweet tooth and a lover of pumpkin dishes. I will definitely make this sweet, flavorful pumpkin bread pudding. Thanks for the recipe.
L says
I’m up for anything that involves pumpkin!
Sharon says
Me too!
Joanie @ One Dish Kitchen says
I love making bread pudding and can’t wait to try this pumpkin version. I bet the vanilla ice cream is perfect with it and need to look for High Road Ice Cream, it looks heavenly!
Sharon says
Yes, it really is! Let me know what you think when you give it a try!
TColeman says
Everything about this just sounds so delicious! I love snickerdoodles, so I am sure that this would be something I would really like.
Sharon says
Thanks so much!
Asia says
I love anything pumpkin I definitely have to try this recipe out.
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
This looks so delicious! Perfect dish for Thanksgiving!
Sharon says
Thanks!
Ilene says
Can’t wait to try this one. It is different from anything I have seen before. LOVE your pictures – they are amazing and make this a great post in my book!
Sharon says
Aw you’re so sweet! Thanks for the feedback!
Brittany says
Ugh this sounds delicious! I’ve been obsessed with everything pumpkin lately! xo, Brittany | http://www.theblistblog.com
Sharon says
Right?! It’s so hard NOT to be obsessed with pumpkin this time of year…it’s everywhere!
Marta Rivera says
Now this looks freaking amazing. Great pictures and wonderful recipe!
Sharon says
Thanks a bunch!
Jordan | Read. Eat. Repeat. says
I really can’t decide what part of this recipe is my favorite. Looks and sounds so amazing!! And your pictures are gorgeous
Sharon says
Aw thanks, Jordan!
Elizabeth O says
I love bread pudding and this recipe looks like a homerun. I plan to try it during this holiday season.
Sharon says
Thanks so much! Isn’t bread pudding the greatest?!