Sweet Potato Bread Pudding with Cardamom Whipped Cream
Sweet potato bread pudding is a warm and cozy fall and winter dessert that's easy to make! Comforting and mildly sweet, serve this simple dessert with a big dollop of fresh cardamom whipped cream for a real treat.
10cupsstale ½-inch bread cubes(such as Italian, challah, or brioche)
1cupsweet potato puree
½cuppacked light brown sugar
4large eggs
½teaspoonground cardamom
¼teaspoonground cinnamon
3cupsmilk(low-fat is fine)
Cardamom Whipped Cream:
½cupheavy cream
1 ½teaspoonsgranulated sugar
¼teaspoonground cardamom
Instructions
Place the oven rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350°F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and arrange the stale bread cubes in the dish.
Whisk the sweet potato puree, brown sugar, eggs, cardamom, and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Then whisk in the milk until well-combined and smooth. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread cubes in the baking dish, pressing down with your hands or the back of a spoon, making sure that all the bread gets submerged and starts soaking in the custard.
Soak for 10 to 15 minutes and then put the baking dish in the oven. Bake until the filling is set and the top is lightly browned and crusted, about 45 to 50 minutes. The best visual queue for doneness is when the bread pudding puffs up evenly. It will deflate as it cools.
Meanwhile, beat the heavy cream to medium peaks. Beat in the sugar and ground cardamom to medium-stiff peaks. Serve the bread pudding warm with fresh cardamom whipped cream.
Notes
If your bread isn’t very stale, cut it into cubes and allow the bread cubes to dry out at room temperature all day or overnight. Alternatively, lightly toast them on a sheet pan in a 350°F oven until dry, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a few days. Reheat leftover pieces in a 350°F oven until heated through.
You can easily replace the sweet potato puree with pumpkin puree to make pumpkin bread pudding. The same spices will work, but you may also increase the cinnamon in that case and add some other warm fall spices like ground cloves, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg.
If your bread is very dense (like rustic artisan bread or French bread) you may want to give it extra time to soak in the custard thoroughly before baking.