Pumpkin Bread Pudding
There’s pumpkin BREAD pudding and then there’s pumpkin bread PUDDING! Made similar to banana pudding (minus the bananas, of course) we’re layering pumpkin pudding with slices of pumpkin bread. It’s as insanely delicious as it sounds so it should most definitely be at the top of your fall baking list!
Pumpkin Bread with Pumpkin Pudding
Ok let’s break this down. We have homemade pumpkin pudding, which is much easier to make than it sounds, layered with homemade pumpkin bread. The pudding helps soften the bread just enough for a toothsome bite. It doesn’t turn to mush, so there are delicious textures happening all throughout this dessert.
The idea basically came from my love of banana pudding and the need to inject it into every holiday. Thinking back to a time when I had funfetti banana pudding at a local sandwich shop, where they layered the cake within the pudding, I thought I could easily apply that here!
So the pumpkin bread pudding was born. To prevent any waste, we’re halving my recipe for pumpkin bread so that there’s just the right amount for this pudding. Once layered, it’s chilled overnight before it’s ready to serve!
Pumpkin Pudding Baking Tips
Homemade pudding may sound daunting, but it’s actually so easy. Once I nailed down this base recipe, I find myself making pudding ALL the time! So here’s everything you need to know to ensure it turns out perfectly rich and creamy:
- Milk – Slowly whisk the milk into all of the dry ingredients. This will prevent any lumps.
- Heating – Don’t walk away from the stove. Once the mixture starts to steam, it will thicken quickly. And in order to prevent lumps, the mixture must be whisked constantly near the end.
- Cool – Allow the pudding to cool just until it’s barely warm. If it’s too warm once the whipped cream is added, the pudding will deflate so it won’t be as thick and creamy.
- Whipped Cream – Whip just until you reach firm peaks (see photo above). The mixture should hold its shape but still appear soft and smooth. If it looks curdled, it was over whipped.
- Whisk Folding – For a really smooth pudding, I like to fold in the whipped cream using a whisk. It’s a little risky as it can deflate the whipped cream if worked too much, but just take your time and carefully fold until you reach a smooth consistency.
Serving Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Once the pudding has chilled overnight, it’s ready to go! I like to scoop a hefty amount into clear cups. Half the fun is seeing those large chunks of pumpkin bread throughout this pudding!
You can also layer this pudding in individual cups before chilling, but I personally love the messiness of a scooped cup. Either way, you’re going to want to take a spoon and dig in right when it’s ready.
Pumpkin Bread Pudding FAQs
Absolutely! Just swap the flour in the bread with a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour. I like Bob’s Red Mill (the blue bag) or King Arthur Measure for Measure.
Sure! You will just only need half a loaf for layered in the pudding.
We have 2 layers of pudding with 2 layers of banana bread, all topped with whipped cream!
If your pudding turns out lumpy, it could be that it wasn’t whisked enough while heating or the stove was too hot. To fix this, you can run the pudding through a fine mesh strainer to remove the lumps.
This is because the whipped cream wasn’t added gradually enough, so the cream cheese became overwhelmed with liquid and wasn’t able to smooth out. Unfortunately the only fix for this is to start over! Remember, slowly add whipping cream until the cream cheese is thinned out enough to handle the rest of the cream. Keep scraping down the bowl to ensure it’s fully smooth before adding all of the rest of the whipping cream.
Store the pudding in the refrigerator and it will keep for about 4 days.
For more pumpkin dessert recipes, check out my:
- Mini Pumpkin Hand Pies
- Cream Cheese Frosted Pumpkin Bread
- Cookies & Cream Brownie Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Bread with Maple Glaze
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram and leave a review below if you make this pumpkin bread pudding. To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, the buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!
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Pumpkin Bread Pudding
- Total Time: 2 hours + Overnight
- Yield: 9 servings
Description
This pumpkin bread pudding is outrageous in the best way. Homemade pumpkin pudding is layered with chunks of pumpkin bread. The pumpkin bread stays nice and soft without turning the mush. It’s as incredible as it sounds!
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bread
- 1 cup (255g) 100% pure pumpkin
- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (56g) vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (128g) all-purpose flour or 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour
Pumpkin Pudding
- 2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus more for dusting
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups (360g) whole milk
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup (128g) 100% pure pumpkin
- 4 oz full fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- 2 cups (480g) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Pumpkin Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350F and coat the inside of a 9×5 loaf pan with nonstick spray. Line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, brown sugar, maple syrup, oil, egg, and vanilla.
- Once smooth, whisk in the baking soda, baking powder, salt, pepper, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon.
- Once those are evenly mixed into the batter, whisk in the flour.
- Pour into the pan and spread even. Bake for 28 to 32 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow to cool at room temperature for about 15 minutes, then lift out of the pan and onto a plate or cooling rack and store in the refrigerator until completely cooled, about 45 minutes.
Pumpkin Pudding
- While the pumpkin bread cools, start on the pudding.
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt.
- Slowly whisk in the milk until smooth, then whisk in the egg yolks and pumpkin.
- Place over medium heat and continue to whisk until thickened. It’s important to keep whisking to prevent any lumps. This will take about 10 minutes and it will go from liquid to thick very quickly, so keep a close eye on it once it starts to steam.
- Once thickened, remove from heat transfer to a large bowl. Cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or until the pumpkin bread is also cooled.
- After those 30 minutes, add the cream cheese and powdered sugar to a large bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until smooth.
- With the mixer on medium speed, slowly trickle in the heavy cream. Mix in enough to thin out the cream cheese, scraping down the bowl throughout this process and mixing to prevent lumps. Once the cream cheese is thin enough, pour in the rest of the heavy cream and crank to high speed. Whip until you reach firm peaks, about 3 minutes. Don’t walk away from the mixer as we don’t want to overwhip.
- Scoop a little less than half of the whipped cream into the cooled pudding (it’s ok if it’s still a little warm) and use a whisk to gently fold to combine.
- Now spread a thin layer of the pudding into the bottom of an 8×8 pan, or anything of similar size.
- Cut the pumpkin loaf in half hotdog style, then chop width-wise into 22 pieces, 11 for each half.
- Lay 11 pieces of the pumpkin bread over the thin layer of pudding, then spread half of the remaining pudding on top.
- Lay another 11 pieces of pumpkin bread and cover with the remaining pudding. Then finish it off with a final layer of the remaining whipped cream.
- Top with a light dusting of cinnamon. Chill overnight (uncovered) and tomorrow, dig in!
- Prep Time: 90 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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Meet Jenna
I’m the creator, baker, and photographer behind Butternut Bakery. Here I share desserts for every diet because I believe everyone should have a chance to indulge!
