Hunks of buttery brioche are soaked in a custard mixture, loaded with fall spices and real pumpkin puree! This pumpkin brioche bread pudding is a cozy dose of warmth we need to welcome the darker half of the year.
Our ancestors understood — perhaps better than most of us today — that without darkness, there can be no light. That one cannot be in a season of growth and production all year long.
They not only accepted the short and dark days of winter, but welcomed them with open arms by celebrating Samhain every year on November 1. The day that marks the transition of light to darkness, harvesting to fallowing, and productivity to restoration.
Samhain festivals were joyful celebrations of giving thanks for the bounty and brightness of summer while also embracing the upcoming winter. The slow season. The peaceful period that quietly offers us the time to rejuvenate, the space to crystallize our intentions, and the opportunity to sow new seeds within ourselves.
And while I’m sure this pumpkin brioche bread pudding wasn’t on the menu back then (hello canned pumpkin puree…evaporated milk…not exactly traditional, I know I know), it is, in my kitchen and heart at least, representative of the spirit of this time.
My way of swirling the essence of Samhain into my routine looks like homemade pumpkin bread pudding, enjoyed with my love in a candlelit living room, alongside a steaming pot of tea and the new season of The Witcher (anyone else?!). Pumpkin to embody the harvest, baked into a soul-soothing, heart warming treat that warms bellies and lifts spirits alike.
Equal parts festive and humble, easy yet special, and just the right thing to see us through this transition to the darker half of the year, quietly — and deliciously — bringing just a bit of ancestral wisdom into our little modern life.
ingredients for pumpkin brioche bread pudding
ingredient notes & swaps
- Brioche is a type of bread that has some pastry-like characteristics, such as an airy texture and sweeter flavor. It comes in many forms, but since we’re going to be tearing it up, don’t worry too much about what it looks like. I would avoid getting pre-sliced bread if you can, that way you can be in full control of the size and shape of your bread chunks. If you can’t find a whole loaf anywhere, grab a pack of brioche burger buns! The important thing is just to get about 1 pound of bread.
- Make sure to grab a can of pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling by mistake. The latter has spices, sweeteners, and other ingredients already added. You can definitely use homemade puree too! A standard 15 ounce can is about 1.75 cups of puree, so just sub in an equal amount of homemade stuff if you want.
- If you don’t have or don’t like oat milk, use regular dairy milk or any other unflavored, unsweetened plant milk.
- Grand Marnier is a blend of cognac and orange liqueur that imparts a warm, sweet, and citrusy depth of flavor to this bread pudding. If you want to skip it and stay booze-free that’s ok! No substitution needed.
- Somewhere between vanilla extract and whole vanilla beans lies the vanilla bean paste I used in this recipe. I like it for this pumpkin bread pudding because it’s an easy way to get that fresh vanilla bean flavor and lovely flecking throughout the custard without the fuss or expense of whole vanilla beans. Vanilla beans are worth it in some cases (such as my Vanilla Chai Old Fashioned!) but for this bread pudding, the paste works perfectly. I recommend giving it a try and incorporating this ingredient into your pantry if you can, but if you want to stick with regular vanilla extract, just use an equal amount as a replacement.
pumpkin brioche bread pudding recipe
Hunks of buttery brioche are soaked in a custard mixture, loaded with fall spices and real pumpkin puree! This pumpkin brioche bread pudding is a cozy dose of warmth we need to welcome the darker half of the year.
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the bread pudding:
- 1 loaf brioche bread — about 1 pound by weight
- 4 eggs
- 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted and cooled (plus a refrigerated stick for greasing the baking dish)
- 1 1/2 cups oat milk
- 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for the baking dish
- 1 shot (1 1/2 ounces) Grand Marnier
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 1 tablespoon orange zest — about the yield from 1 medium orange
- 1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup dried cranberries
Optional topping ideas:
- Scoops of vanilla ice cream
- Extra pinch of pumpkin pie spice
- Drizzle of caramel or dulce de leche
- Sprinkle of chopped dried cranberries
- Dusting of powdered sugar
Instructions
- Tear the brioche loaf into large chunks and pile them into a large mixing bowl.
- In another large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until blended, then add the pumpkin puree and cooled melted butter.
- Whisk the mixture until smooth. It will be fairly thick and bright orange in color.
- Add the oat milk and evaporated milk to the pumpkin mixture.
- Whisk until smooth.
- Add the sugar, Grand Marnier, vanilla paste, orange zest, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
- Continue whisking until well combined. The mixture will be smooth and liquidy, like the batter for French toast.
- Pour the custard mixture into the bowl with the torn brioche, tossing gently to coat evenly. Careful not to over stir as it could cause the bread pudding to turn out dense.
- Stir in the dried cranberries.
- Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, giving the bread time to soak up some of the custard mixture.
- While you’re waiting for the bread to soak, preheat the oven to 350℉. Coat the bottom and sides of your casserole dish with cold butter, then dust with granulated sugar, shaking out any excess. I used my great aunt’s #36 Le Cruset oval gratin dish, which has a capacity of about 3 quarts, so any similar dish or a 9 x 13 casserole dish would work here too.
- Pour the soaked bread mixture into the prepared dish, redistributing the bread chunks as needed to make it even. Sprinkle the top evenly with a shower of more granulated sugar.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes until the center of the bread pudding has a just a slight jiggle and registers 160℉ on an instant read thermometer. Remove the bread pudding and let it set for about 15-20 minutes before serving.
- Run a knife (plastic or silicone if you have an enameled or nonstick baking dish!) around the edges of the bread pudding to help it release, then portion into slices and serve! Garnish with your favorite toppings. I served mine with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and pinch of pumpkin pie spice.
Notes
- When tearing the brioche bread, take care not to compress it too much with your hands. Its airy texture is what makes it so special so we want to preserve its flaky texture as best we can!
- My favorite method of buttering a baking dish: peel back the wrapper from a refrigerated butter stick and rub it all over the bottom and up the sides of a baking dish, like a kid coloring with a fat crayon! Then add a few generous spoonfuls of sugar and shake the pan around, letting the sugar stick to the butter coating in a uniform layer. If there’s any excess sugar at the end, just shake it out.
- If your pumpkin brioche bread pudding seems to be getting too dark on top before the center is done baking, tent it with aluminum foil to protect it.
- Since this bread pudding recipe is intentionally moist and gooey, it’s not going to set super firmly, meaning you can’t test it for doneness with a cake tester like other baked goods. The best way to check for doneness here is to take its temperature! USDA recommends cooking egg dishes to a minimum internal temperature of 160℉, so use an instant read thermometer to check before you call it done. Ultimately, the exact amount of time your pumpkin bread pudding will take will depend on the size of your baking dish.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: desserts
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: american
FAQs
What should you top bread pudding with?
I love to keep it simple with just a melty scoop of vanilla ice cream and maybe a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon. You can go so many different ways though! Caramel drizzle, chopped dried cranberries, or a dusting of powdered sugar all make for great toppings too.
How can you adapt this bread pudding recipe to make it more custardy or drier depending on your preference?
For me, bread pudding is all about the dreamy creamy custard, which I achieve by using a lot of liquid and not drying the bread first.
If you want your bread pudding to be more bready though, just leave your brioche out for a day to get a little stale or dry the torn pieces in a low oven for 10 minutes or so, which will enable them to suck up more of the custard mixture.
What special ingredient do you like to add to your bread pudding to keep it unique?
The Grand Marnier in this pumpkin brioche bread pudding is my special ingredient, as it adds a complexity that is hard to replicate. Cooking with alcohol like wine or liqueur is one of my favorite skills I honed during culinary school at ICC as they never fail to add a special something to a recipe.
Looking for more pumpkin love? Me too, always. A bowl of Roasted Cauliflower and Pumpkin Soup is a warm and cozy meal, or these Pumpkin Spice Blondies with cream cheese frosting are another sweet way of celebrating the harvest season.
dig in!
Enjoy & let me know what you think 🌙 💛
Leave a Reply