PUMPKIN BREAD PUDDING WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE TOPPING

What do you do with stale bread or the end pieces in the loaf of bread? Actually, we called those end pieces heels. Well, if you are frugal like Momma, you made bread pudding as dessert for supper. There was no tossing bread to the birds or ducks back in the ’50s and ’60s. It was every animal for themselves, that is unless they were in your flock and on the calendar schedule for the dinner table. All things were put to good use. You would have had to have been there to truly understand.

Momma’s grocery list included bread most times and there was no need to include an adjective. Was there any other kind but white? No, and when it was really fresh, it would stick to the roof of your mouth. I will never forget my grandkids (who lived in Pennsylvania ) visit one year when they were small. I had prepared them a sandwich, probably PB&J. Brady stood in front of me with a cherubic grin. He had so many teeth and he loved to show them off. He was pointing to his mouth. It seems he could not get the bread off of his top palate. Poor innocent babe had never had the privilege of white bread. Anyway, you never used fresh bread for bread pudding anyway. Top Rule!

I remember Holsum bread and also that Sunbeam bread with the pretty little curly-headed blonde on the package. Momma always wanted my hair to be curly like hers but that was not in the stars. My hair resembled the first version of Ramona Quimby of the Beverly Cleary book series..short uneven bangs. As a matter of fact, it was uneven all over. Mother fancied herself to be a hairdresser. Some of my early photographs prove otherwise. But I have told that tale already at https:what-no-kindergarten

Momma and Aunt Betty had two different versions of bread pudding. Momma’s was moist and we called it “wet” pudding and Aunt Betty’s was dry, meaning you cut it like slices. They were both delicious and had the same basic ingredients added to the bread and that was sugar, eggs, milk and a few pats of butter. Occasionally Momma would add raisins. I had an aversion to them so I would carefully pick them out and lay them on the table. Momma said that was wasteful but Daddy usually took care of that waste. Same thing with liver.. Having flashbacks. Yuk!

Don’t you know my entrepreneurial cousin, Desiree, comes along in about 2004 with a packaged bread pudding mix. She is a pharmacist so she was able to concoct a custom bread pudding blend mix in attractive packaging. There was Classic, Lemon, Cinnamon, and Pumpkin Spice. All you had to add was that stale bread, eggs, and milk. The company was Blue Magnolia.

Desiree came by one day to tell us about her new venture. And she brought Momma some to try. Momma found it hard to swallow that anyone needed a mix to make bread pudding. But boy, she was proud of the fact that Desiree owned a company. Momma showed those packages to everyone that walked in the door.

Momma had a daughter, Diane, that was a published writer and now, her favorite cousin, Tupie, had a daughter that owned the Blue Magnolia Bread Pudding Company. Momma had things to talk about!

Well, Desiree, has since sold her company and is onto a good life of retirement. But we all still remember and love Blue Magnolia!

These days, many variations of bread pudding are served in fine restaurants with some sort of sweet sauce as a topping. I made this Pumpkin Bread Pudding with White Chocolate Topping for the holidays. And I like to bake it in a glass pyrex dish with a lid because I am typically transporting it. Click here to see a dish.

Momma and Aunt Betty would be so proud of our cousin get together at Thanksgiving and that we are carrying on the traditions of turkey, ham, cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole, spaghetti and cheese, green stuff, and all the other sides and desserts. And the fact that we are creating some new traditions such as this fancy bread pudding.

I hope they are sitting together in their heavenly home with Daddy and Uncle Buck watching the flurry of activity on Thanksgiving Day and feeling a sense of pride that they done good.

Yield: 15 servings

PUMPKIN BREAD PUDDING WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE TOPPING

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Moist Pumpkin Bread Pudding with White Chocolateate Topping

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 5-6 cups French Bread or Brioche Loaf, cubed 
• 3 eggs
• 1 can Libbys Pure Pumpkin 15 oz
• 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 cup Half and Half
• 1 cup Milk
• 2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch salt
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 stick butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping

• 4 oz Bakers white Chocolate
• 1/4 cup Heavy Cream

Instructions

Bread Pudding

Leave bread cubes out overnight to dry and become "stale."

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 13 x 9 pan with nonstick spray. Pour cubes in the pan after they have dried out.

In a large bowl, add all of the rest of the pudding ingredients and whisk well. Pour over the bread cubes and stir. Make sure all bread is soaked. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Cut the butter and dot the top of the pudding with the butter.

Bake 55 minutes.

Topping

Melt the chocolate and cream in a saucepan. Stir well and set aside 10 minutes to cool. Drizzle over the Bread Pudding.