Pumpkin bread pudding is a rich and creamy fall dessert made with bread and pumpkin custard, topped with salty sweet caramel sauce, toasted pecans and lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Slice day old and stale bread into 1 inch cubes. If the bread isn’t stale enough, toast the slices of bread in a toaster oven or bake in a 350 F oven for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the bread is dried out.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs together until well combined. Whisk in the light brown sugar, maple syrup, canned pumpkin, milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, salt and all the ground spices until well combined.
Add the cubed pieces of brioche, challah or french bread into the bowl. Gently mix the bread into the spiced pumpkin custard. Allow the bread pudding mixture to rest and soak in the pumpkin custard while the oven continues to preheat.
Bake the pumpkin custard bread pudding for 50 - 60 minutes. The center should be puffed up as high as the sides. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs.