Marlene Cornelis

Pumpkin Maple Bread Pudding with Sweet Pumpkin Butter Sauce

{Sponsored post with giveaway — now closed}

Pumpkin Maple Bread Pudding & Sweet Pumpkin Butter Sauce | Urban Cottage Life.comAs Thanksgiving approaches here in Canada, the holiday party season is getting into swing. That means lots of gatherings, sometimes hot on the heels of each other or even conflicting, which can cause social and family pressure (not to mention indigestion). Case in point: I know someone who has four Thanksgiving get-togethers to attend. I suppose that, as problems go, that’s a good one to have, but really, how many turkey dinners can one person eat over the course of a single long weekend?

I discovered years ago that inviting guests for brunch is an excellent way to take the pressure off them — not to mention me — especially at the  holidays. A morning gathering doesn’t seem as laden with expectation as the traditional holiday dinners; guests can ease into the day and relax around the table as they fuel themselves for the hectic hours ahead. If someone has to leave a bit early to hit the road for a two-hour drive to have turkey at Aunt Sally’s, that’s fine; the rest of us will linger over another cup of coffee and perhaps a second helping of the bread pudding.

Pumpkin Maple Bread Pudding & Sweet Pumpkin Butter Sauce | Urban Cottage Life.com

As a host, I appreciate having easy, make ahead recipes that require little more than popping into the oven on the big day. I like to have one showpiece dish, with a few simple sides. This year, the centre of my table will be reserved for this pumpkin maple bread pudding. Softly pumpkin-hued in colour, gently sweetened with the deep caramel notes of Ontario maple syrup and fragranced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves, it offers up the best of the season in one dish.

And that dish is important, too. I appreciate having cookware that I can take directly from oven to table, without sacrificing style. The plain glass baking dishes that I’ve had forever get the job done, but they don’t look at all special. So, I was excited when I opened the set of CW by CorningWare to feature in this post. It’s beautiful stoneware, with an appealing rounded design and just the right amount of heft. It’s practical too, being oven, microwave and dishwasher safe; the pieces also nest together to save on storage space. But it’s the festive colours that really drew me in. I do believe I literally exclaimed out loud when I saw them. Seriously, I heard someone say, “Oh!” and I was the only person in the room.

Pumpkin Maple Bread Pudding & Sweet Pumpkin Butter Sauce | Urban Cottage Life.comNot that it’s all about me or anything, but it seems pretty clear that CorningWare designed this line expressly for the Urban Cottage kitchen. In particular, the 3-quart baker in a shade of turquoise called Pool fits my decor perfectly. I already have accents of deep red and yellow in the kitchen, so the 1.5-quart baker in Vermilion and the diminutive (20-ounce) baker in yellow Curry will look right at home. The shallow baker (I can see myself serving up party treats in it) is Twilight, a deep, smoky purple; everyone should have some purple in their kitchen, right? I just may add another piece in fresh green Sprout to this collection.

When this year’s Thanksgiving brunch arrives, I know my guests will rave over the pumpkin maple bread pudding. And when they taste the simple maple-sweetened pumpkin butter sauce they’ll be offering to do the dishes if they can take some home. I’ll just need to watch that they don’t take any of the stoneware, too.

Giveaway of a 2.5-Quart Vermilion Baker

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED. Congratulations to our winner, Valerie Mallette! Valerie plans to make chicken parmesan in her new baking dish — I’m sure it’ll be delicious and look great. Thanks to everyone who entered.

If you’d like to have a piece of this stylish stoneware, cross your fingers and participate in this giveaway! CW by CorningWare is generously providing a 2.5 Quart Vermilion Baker that they’ll deliver directly to one lucky reader.

  • The giveaway is open to all residents of Canada only.
  • To enter, just leave a comment below, answering the question: What’s the first thing you’d like to make in your CW by CorningWare 2.5 Quart Baker? (Please ensure you answer the question to be included in the draw.)
  • The giveaway closes at noon, EST on Wednesday, October 7.
  • I will choose one lucky entrant randomly, using the list randomizer at random.org and notify that person by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide me their mailing address  and phone number (no post office box numbers, please, for delivery purposes). If there’s no response, I’ll continue the process above until a winner is confirmed.
  • Please note, by entering the giveaway and should you win, you’re providing consent for me to give your mailing address and phone number to Food Bloggers of Canada, who will liaise with CorningWare so they can ship your prize directly to you.

Disclaimer

This blog post is sponsored by World Kitchen and I have been compensated monetarily and with product (a 4-piece set of CW by CorningWare) for it and associated social media posts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. As always, I only work with brands whose products I like and which fit with the philosophy of my blog, and the opinions I share are my own.

Pumpkin Maple Bread Pudding & Sweet Pumpkin Butter Sauce | Urban Cottage Life.com

Pumpkin Maple Bread Pudding

I wanted to create a simple but show-stopping dish for a holiday brunch that could be assembled in advance and cooked the morning of with little fuss. The accompanying sauce (recipe below) adds just the right touch of special-occasion decadence. While the suggested serving here is for brunch, slices of the warm pudding topped with the sauce and a dollop of whipped cream would make a lovely dessert too.

This recipes makes enough for a CW by CorningWare 3 Quart Baker (just under 12-1/2 by 8-1/2 inches in size).

Servings: 8

  • 1 loaf crusty French bread, one or two days old (stale bread will hold its shape better)
  • neutral oil or butter for greasing the baking dish
  • 1 cup plain pumpkin puree (I used commercially canned pumpkin puree, which tends to more solid than homemade)
  • 1/2 cup medium grade maple syrup
  • 2 tsp pumpkin spice
  • 6 eggs, beaten
  • 2-1/2 cups milk (I used 2 percent)

Slice the bread 1 inch thick, then cut each slice in half lengthwise and then into 4 large pieces. You need about 8 cups, or enough to tightly pack into the bottom of the baking dish in a single layer (there may be a few pieces overlapping). Place the pieces crust side down.

Place the pumpkin, maple syrup, spice mixture and eggs in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the milk and whisk gently until incorporated. The custard will look like pumpkin pie filling, but thinner.

Carefully pour the pumpkin custard over the bread, taking care to make all the pieces wet.

Cover the baking dish and place in the refrigerator to soak for anywhere from 4 hours to overnight.

About 30 minutes before you plan to bake the bread pudding, remove the dish from the fridge and gently turn over the bread. Having the crust on top helps add some crispiness to the dish through baking. Pre-heat the oven to 350℉.

Bake the bread pudding for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the centre has a creamy texture but isn’t wet, the bread has puffed up and the crust is golden and just starting to brown.

Slice into 8 portions and place the baking dish directly on the serving table so guests can help themselves. Serve with sweet pumpkin butter sauce, below, in a small jug or a bowl with a ladle.

Sweet Pumpkin Butter Sauce

You can cook this sauce the night before your party and store it covered in the refrigerator. Gently warm it the next morning before serving. Not to brag or anything, but my taste tester and I practically swooned over it. Just sayin’.

Servings: 8

  • 1/2 cup medium grade maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 tsp pumpkin spice
  • pinch of kosher salt

Place the syrup, butter and pumpkin into a small pot and stir with a fork or small whisk over medium-low heat until the butter has melted and the pumpkin has melded into the syrup. Stir in the spice blend and salt. Cook over lowest heat for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, to fully integrate the spices into the sauce. Serve warm.

60 comments

  1. I think I would make in my new CW baker a lovely batch of apple crisp! The red would set off the crumb crust perfectly!

    Reply

  2. Not to be too unoriginal but the 1st dish I’d make if I won the CW Corningware baker is this very delicious looking Pumpkin Maple Bread Pudding! Love bread pudding and have a large bottle of Ontario maple syrup ready and waiting for the sauce..yum

    Reply

      • Delicious! Served as a dessert and found the especially tasty. Used fresh spices to make the pumpkin spice and the aroma is so fragrant. Will use again for the traditional pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner.
        Very pleased with this recipe – thank you,
        Next time, will consider a cream based sauce as an alternative. Also, addition of plump raisins would be tasty.

      • Thanks so much for letting me know how it went, Sharon. I think making your own pumpkin spice blend makes a big difference, particularly when the spices are fresh.
        A cream sauce is a good idea; I’m sure that could be an adaptation for the current sauce, but I had also thought about making a caramel sauce.
        I personally like the idea of raisins in the bread pudding, but I’ve managed to raise 3 children who despise them, so they’re out for family meals over here!

  4. I’m thinking I would make a dish of cheesy bacon scalloped potatoes in my new CW by CorningWare Baker.

    Reply

  6. oh i would make a strata of some sort, with fresh from the garden roasted veggies, herbs and tomatoes, sourdough bread…and of course bacon, in the red dish for sure!!!! these are absolutely beautiful!

    Reply

  7. I would make my favourite tuna casserole with white wine and lots of cheese. A perfect winter casserole.

    Reply

  8. I’d test it out by making an old family favourite, raisin-rice custard. That’s called comfort food in our house!

    Reply

  9. When I was living in Sweden I had a dish called Fish Pie. It was basically slightly more firm scalloped potatoes with layers of salmon and dill added, and served in a neat pile on top of a thin pool of clarified butter. I’d make that!

    Reply

  15. Maybe mac n cheese, but because my mind has turned to meal planning for Thanksgiving, I think it would be roasted root vegetables.

    Reply

  17. Oh I wish I could enter this giveaway. I absolutely love Corningware products. I have one cookware from them that my grandmother use to years.. decades old and I still love it. Love this post, it brought back fond memories.

    Reply

  26. I am pregnant and can’t get enough of pumpkin at the moment. So I would actually try to make your Pumpkin Maple Bread Pudding however I can’t have eggs or dairy so I would have to use some substitutes which I think might just work! Yummy!!!

    Reply

    • Congratulations, Ashlee! I’m flattered that you would make my pumpkin maple bread pudding recipe. I’m curious to hear what substitutions you would make. I think something like almond or coconut milk would work; I’d like to see what you would do to replace the eggs. I think it’s so important to know how to adapt food to suit different dietary requirements.

      Reply

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