During my childhood, we ate pumpkin pie from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I love love, love pumpkin pie and I can never get enough of it. I also love croissants and bread pudding too. So this year I had the hair-brained idea to make a bread pudding using croissants and pumpkin pie filling. To make the custard I slightly modified the recipe for the pumpkin pie custard by adding more liquid and eggs and adjusting the spices. This dessert has a milder flavor than pumpkin pie but still enough to satiate my cravings. My turkey may be the centerpiece of Thanksgiving, but to me, pumpkin is the star of the show.

Dang, I think I hit the jackpot on this one. I have already made it twice.

Pumpkin Pie Bread Pudding

with Spiced Cream Cheese Topping

This recipe blends three of my favorite things: Pumpkin Pie, Croissants and Bread Pudding. 

Ingredients

16 heaping cups of stale croissants, cut or torn into cubes
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp ground cloves
6 large eggs
2 – 15oz. can Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
12 oz. Heavy Cream or Half and Half

Preparation

Place croissant cubes in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a similar large bowl, combine sugar, salt, and spices. Add eggs. Using an electric mixer cream eggs with sugar and spices. Add pumpkin and evaporated milk and heavy cream and blend until custard is completely blended.

This is the second time I made it and I used 6 croissants and 12 +/- slices of stale brioche as I did not have enough stale croissants.

Pour custard over the croissant cubes. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold the custard into the cubes until all are coated.  Allow to rest for 1 hour so that croissants and completely absorb the custard.Before

Fifteen minutes before the resting period ends, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter or spray your 10×14 glass baking dish. At the hour, pour the mixture into the dish and spread out evenly.

Place in 350-degree oven uncovered for 45 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Substitutions:

Stale bread can be substituted for stale croissants (bread only may not need the full hour to absorb the custard.)

If you like the nutmeg and allspice flavors used in pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice, you can use it in place of the cinnamon, clove, and ginger. The amount is 1 Tbs plus a half teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. The flavor will be slightly different.

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Spiced Cream Cheese Topping

Ingredients

1 – 12 oz container Whipped Cream Cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
4 Tbs heavy cream

Preparation

Place whipped cream cheese in a medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and spices, Using an electric mixer, blend until creamy. Add heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until all are blended. Refrigerate until its time to serve.

Bread pudding is best warm or at room temperature.

Place a dollop of the topping onto each serving. 

NOTE: Using regular cream cheese will make a denser topping.

Enjoy!

Download Recipe Here: Pumpkin Pie Bread Pudding v2

 

Pumpkin Fact: Your Libby’s can of pumpkin does not contain pumpkin. It is actually a Dickinson squash, developed by Libby’s because it makes a better pie.  You can read about it here.

That is all for now.

Cheers,

rick