Remember when I told you that my mom and I think Bobby Flay is trying to kill us? This is one of the reasons we came to that conclusion. But, I can’t deny that it’s a delicious holiday dessert. So let’s dive in.

My mom baked this particular loaf of pumpkin bread, but that sunken part in the middle always happens to me, too. I think it’s because I don’t leave it in the oven long enough. But it doesn’t really matter for this particular purpose. And you don’t even have to bake the pumpkin bread yourself if you don’t feel like it.

No matter what kind of bread you use, you should toast it first so it dries out a little and can absorb more of the deliciousness you are going to pour on top.

That deliciousness includes more pumpkin. And custard.

This one you should bake in a water bath, so make sure the dish you use will fit in another pan. We didn’t have a 10-inch glass dish (as called for in the recipe), but this worked quite well. And it was pretty. That is important.

And if that doesn’t look good enough, there’s caramel apple sauce you can drizzle on top. Yum squared. Not quite pumpkin pie, but a good dessert for National Pumpkin Pie Day (Dec. 25) nonetheless.

Hope everyone is having a happy holiday!

Pumpkin bread pudding (Adapted from Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain Cookbook, serves at least 8)
1 9-inch loaf (give or take) pumpkin bread or other bread (BF’s pumpkin bread recipe below)
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 vanilla bean
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons bourbon (optional)
whipped cream
Spicy caramel apple sauce (recipe below)
Shelled pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 325. Butter a 10-inch baking dish (glass is preferable, make sure the dish you use will fit inside a roasting pan).

Cut the bread into roughly 1/2-inch cubes. Spread the bread cubes evenly on a large baking sheet and bake for about 7 minutes, then stir/turn the cubes over and bake another 7-8 minutes, until toasted. Set aside.

Split the vanilla bean with a sharp knife and scrape out the seeds. In a small saucepan, stir together the cream, milk and vanilla bean (plus seeds). Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until tiny bubbles start to appear around the sides of the pan. Remove from  heat.

In a large bowl, whisk the yolks, sugar, maple syrup and pumpkin puree together. Slowly (and carefully) whisk the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture until combined. Remove the vanilla bean and stir in the bourbon.

Scatter the toasted bread cubes in the prepared baking dish, then pour the custard over the bread, pushing down on the bread to submerge it. Allow to sit for 15 minutes (or more) to let the bread soak up some of the custard.

Place the dish in a large roasting pan and add hot water to the roasting pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the glass baking dish. Bake bread pudding about 1 hour, until the sides are slightly puffed and the center jiggles a bit. Remove from the oven and from the water and cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Serve bread pudding warm, topped with whipped cream, drizzled with spicy caramel apple sauce and sprinkled with pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin bread (makes 1 9-inch loaf)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
scant 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
2 large eggs
2/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and spices.

In a stand mixer or large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar and oil together until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin puree and mix just until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

Gradually add the flour mixture and water until just combined (you can add them with the mixer going on low speed, but you don’t have to). Pour the batter evenly into the pan.

Bake for about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing.

Spicy caramel apple sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup apple juice
1 star anise
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
4 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon apple schnapps (optional)

Stir cream, apple juice, star anise, ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg together in a small saucepan and then heat until small bubbles start to form on the sides of the pan but mixture has not boiled. Remove from the heat and let sit for at least 20 minutes.

Strain the mixture back into a clean small saucepan and place over low heat.

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and vinegar and cook over high heat — without stirring — until the mixture turns a dark amber color (8 to 10 minutes).

Slowly and carefully whisk in the hot cream mixture and continue whisking until smooth.  Add apple schnapps and cook for 30 more seconds.

(Sauce can be made 2 days ahead of time and kept in the fridge. Make sure you warm it up before serving).