Bobby Flay's Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Bobby Flay recently did a Thanksgiving throwdown with Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. Bobby made a Pumpkin Bread-Bread Pudding with Vanilla Creme Anglaise and a caramel apple sauce. As soon as I heard about it I knew I had to make it. There are actually 2 different recipes online, one on Bobby's website and one on Food Network. I mainly used the Food Network recipe but did the apple cider sauce from Bobby's website.

There are a lot of different components for this recipe. First, you have to make the pumpkin bread, cut it into chunks and toast it, make the custard for the pudding, the creme anglaise, and the caramel apple cider sauce. It's not difficult, it's just a lot of work. The end result though is delicious!  For the pumpkin bread, I didn't use bourbon and just used vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean. For the Caramel Apple Cider Sauce, I made two batches because my first one didn't turn out too well. I didn't have enough white sugar, only 1 3/4 cup so the remaining 1/4 cup I used dark brown sugar. YUM! It really made it good!  All of the components combined made this a really good dessert! Everyone loved it.

I can't believe I forgot to take a picture!!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 cup pure canned pumpkin puree
• Pumpkin Bread, toasted and cubed, recipe follows
• Vanilla Creme Anglaise, recipe follows
• Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Combine the cream, milk, vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
2. Whisk together the yolks, sugar, maple syrup, and pumpkin puree in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the hot cream mixture until combined. Strain the custard into a clean bowl.
3. Scatter the pumpkin bread cubes in a buttered 9 by 13-inch baking glass baking dish. Pour the custard over the bread, pressing down on the bread to totally submerge it in the custard. Let sit for 15 minutes to allow the bread to soak up some of the custard.
4. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan and pour hot tap water into the roasting pan until it comes half way up the sides of the glass dish. Bake until the sides are slightly puffed and the center jiggles slightly, about 1 hour.
5. Remove from the oven and water bath and cool on a baking rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.
6. Spoon some of the Vanilla Creme Anglaise into a shallow bowl, top with some of the bread pudding and drizzle with the Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce. Bread pudding is best served warm.

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 8 ounces (scant 1 cup) canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or lightly spray the bottom and sides of a 9-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a small bowl.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the 4 tablespoons softened butter, sugar, and oil at high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times.
4. Add the pumpkin puree and mix until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until just incorporated. At low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and water and mix until just combined. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 60 to 75 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a baking rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely.
5. Once the bread is cool, slice in half lengthwise, and then slice each half into 1/2-inch cubes. Spread the cubes on a large baking sheet and bake in a 325 degree oven until lightly toasted, turning once, about 20 minutes. Let cool.

Vanilla Creme Anglaise

Ingredients

• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup pure cane sugar

Directions

1. Bring the half-and-half and vanilla to a simmer in a medium saucepan.
2. Whisk together the yolks and sugar in a medium bowl until at the pale ribbon stage. Slowly whisk in the hot half-and-half, return the mixture to the pot, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. Strain into a bowl and set over an ice bath. Stir until chilled. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Apple Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• ½ cup water
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup apple cider

Directions

1. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat. Cook until the sugar has dissolved and turned a deep amber color, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cream and apple cider. Return to the stove over high heat and cook until combines, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm.