Brown Butter Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Dried Cranberries

Place the butter in a medium-sized skillet (preferably one with a silver bottom) and turn the heat to medium high. Cook the butter, stirring constantly, until it completely melts, then reduce the heat to low. Continue to cook the melted butter gently, until the milk solid particles start to turn golden brown and smell nutty and fragrant. Turn the heat off and continue to stir, letting the pan’s residual heat continue to brown the butter.

Place the crusty bread cubes in a large bowl and pour the butter over bread. Add the dried cranberries and then toss together to coat the bread completely. Pour the mixture into an 8 x 8-inch pan (coated with additional butter if desired), scraping out any remaining butter in the bowl onto the bread. Evenly spreading the bread in the pan.

Place the heavy cream, milk, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and salt together in the used bowl (no need to clean it out). Whisk together to combine. Pour over the custard bread, making sure all the bread is covered. Dunk the bread in the custard with a fork or spatula to make sure all the bread is coated.

If you are baking the same day, turn the oven to 350°F and let the custard absorb into the bread for 15 minutes. Then sprinkle the turbinado sugar (or additional white sugar) over the top of the bread pudding and bake in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes. The top of the bread pudding should be golden brown, and a butter knife inserted in the middle of the pudding should come out clean.

If you are baking the bread pudding the next day, cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight for the bread to absorb the custard. The next day preheat the oven to 350°F and sprinkle the turbinado sugar (or additional white sugar) over the top of the pudding. If your pan is metal, or can go from refrigerator to oven, put it in the oven directly and bake for 65 to 75 minutes. If the pan is glass or ceramic, put the bread pudding on the countertop for an hour to warm up a bit, then bake in the oven for 55 to 65 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving warm.

Approx. Servings: 6

Recipe and photo created by Irvin Lin/ @eatthelove