Easy Pumpkin Spice Bread Pudding {Maple Bourbon Sauce}

A creamy Pumpkin Spice Bread Pudding studded with Bourbon-soaked dried cherries and topped with a rich Maple Bourbon Cream Sauce! A decadent, yet incredibly easy dessert to pull together!

A long, long time ago I shared my long-running obsession with Bread Pudding. If it is on the menu, I will order it. Rarely does it live up to my standards: too dry, too dense, too bland. I solved this problem by crafting my own. It is an easily adaptable recipe that I have adjusted here to include pumpkin, brown sugar and spices.

You will love the pumpkin custard spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger! I like to keep the bread in larger pieces so that they are small enough to form a cohesive pudding in the custard but large enough to still keep their shape. It is also nice not to feel like you have a brick in your stomach after dessert. This trick eliminates the brick effect.

Every few bites you get a burst of flavor from a bourbon-soaked tart cherry, which balances the sweet custard. The crunchy, sweet pecan-studded bread topping contrasts nicely with the creamy pudding. A symphony of textures and flavors.

And then there is the Maple Bourbon Cream Sauce. Oh, the sauce! Maple and brown sugar temper pungent Bourbon and all that is left is a creamy, sweet maple bourbon flavor. It blends together beautifully with the pumpkin, spices and tart cherries.

Bite after bite, plate after plate, you won’t be able to resist the sensational flavors and textures of this dessert. I suggest you make room for this dish at your holiday table or, it’s so easy to pull together, I suggest you whip this up tonight and wow your guests, family or just yourself.

And if you do make it for the holidays, it will be gone before the pumpkin pie!

This easy Pumpkin Spice Bread Pudding is currently tied with these Pumpkin Pecan Pie Cupcakes for my favorite pumpkin dessert that I’ve made this season!

There are many factors that determine if a bread pudding is going to be good; this is my formula.

Tips and Tricks for The BEST Bread Pudding:

1. Pick the right bread. I LOVE Challah because of its flavor, texture, and crust. Dense, whole-wheat breads are not a good choice because they make the pudding heavy. Buttery brioche is always a safe choice.
2. Age your bread like a fine wine, okay, maybe not quite as long as a fine wine, but do allow it to dry out a bit. I like 3 day old bread. It also helps it not dissolve into one dense mass.
3. Large pieces of bread – I like to cut my bread into ½ – ¾  inch cubes. This allows for the custard to soak into the bread and create a cohesive pudding but it does not allow it all to melt together into one solid brick. No bueno.
4. Keep the crusts. This is not a PB&J, the crust has a function here: it doesn’t absorb as much of the custard so it will provide a different texture.
5. Butter is not always better. I don’t use butter in my bread pudding custard because I don’t feel it adds anything here. And that is that.
6. La Sauce: I am not as strict about my bread pudding sauce as I am about other aspects. I love a good Bourbon sauce, caramel sauce, or sticky toffee sauce. But a sauce is a must. Why? Who doesn’t love sauce? Nuff said.
7. Dried fruit is a requirement for me. It just is. Even better if they are soaked in booze.
8. And the secret that tops all secrets for an excellent bread pudding is a crispy topping. It’s all about the sweet, crispy topping. Right before putting my bread pudding in the oven I mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, toasted pecans and melted butter and toss a cup of reserved bread pieces in it. These top pieces are slightly submerged so they are crispy on top and softened by the pumpkin custard on the bottom. Heaven on Earth.

So far, my favorite bread puddings can be found in St. Louis. If you are visiting or you live there, and you are craving bread pudding, you must go to Remy’s in Clayton and Cyrano’s in Webster Groves. On a side note, I don’t know if Cyrano’s still has it but they used to have the best Gooey Butter Cake in St. Louis (according to me and my best friend, Julia).

Bring On the Pumpkin & Maple! {And Bourbon}

Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Pecan Pie Cupcakes with Bourbon Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

Traditional Pumpkin Roll

 Healthier Pumpkin Banana Bread with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Easy, Foolproof Pumpkin Pie

Maple Caramel Pecan Bars {These are soooooooo gooood!}

This recipe is linked to: Inspiration Monday, Merry Monday, Munching Monday, Two Cup Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Party Time, Moonlight & Mason Jars, What’s Cookin’ Wednesday, Gluten Free Friday, Foodie Friday, Flashback Friday, Saturday Night Fever