Chocolate & Pumpkin Bread Pudding Recipe and Free Printable

"Indigenous recipes did include lightly sweetened, spiced roasted squash, but pumpkin breads or pies didn't exist in traditional Native American recipes. If you're interested in a pumpkin dessert, I love this nutty, chocolatey, decadent bread pudding as a delicious alternative to the expected holiday pie. The pumpkin bread is delicious on its own or as part of this pudding laced with chocolate and custard."

- Chef Freddie Bitsoie

We're so excited to share with you today one of the best desserts we've ever made here in our kitchen. If you like chocolatey desserts and pumpkin pie, you're going to love this combination. This chocolate and pumpkin bread pudding is the perfect autumn recipe to enjoy as you practice some cool kitchen skills.

Learn how to make this delicious dessert and then grab your free printable recipe with pictures down at the bottom.

Learn more about cooking with kids.

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What is Bread Pudding?

Bread pudding is a dessert that consists of bread and custard. You can use any type of bread you like and the custard is typically made of milk, eggs, and spices.

Have some stale bread you'd like to make use of? Bread pudding is a great way to bring that loaf back to life.

What is a Flour Sifter Used For?

A flour sifter will remove any clumps that may exist in your flour. This isn't as important nowadays as most commercial flours are pre-sifted. However, you may want to sift your flour if it's been sitting around for a bit if you're looking to bake the perfect light and airy cake or bread.

Don't have a flour sifter? You can also use a whisk or a fine mesh strainer.

What is a Water Bath?

A water bath ensures a moist environment for cooking. This is important for foods such as custards and cheesecakes. Without the water bath, you may notice your cheesecakes crack or your custard turns out, well, more like rubber than custard.

We normally use a large turkey roasting pan but any large ovensafe pan will do. Place your baking dish inside the ovensafe pan and add hot water to the pan before baking.

Chocolate and Pumpkin Bread Pudding

This chocolate and pumpkin bread pudding recipe comes from New Native Kitchen: Celebrating Modern Recipes of the American Indian.

Not gonna lie, you're going to be tempted to eat the pumpkin bread before you get to making the custard (I know this for a fact - see below), but please try to stick it through and make it all the way to the end. It's so worth it if you can resist the temptation.

Okay, that's my PSA on this. Let's get started.

Ingredients

• All-Purpose Einkorn Flour
• Salt
• Stevia
• Baking Soda
• Pumpkin Puree
• Oil
• Eggs
• Pumpkin Spice
• Walnuts (optional)
• Unsalted Butter
• Vanilla Extract
• Whole Milk
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• Water

We like Lily's semi-sweet style baking chips for this recipe to cut down on the amount of sugar.

Also, the flour sifter could be considered optional. However, it does ensure a light, fluffy pumpkin bread for your pumpkin bread pudding recipe. It also happens to be an exciting piece of equipment for cooking with kids.

Looking for more desserts? Try this cinnamon roll cake.

1. Gather the Recipe, Ingredients, and Equipment

Wash your hands with soap and water. Gather the necessary items for making the pumpkin bread.

Our kids used this opportunity to explore the pumpkin bread pudding recipe and photos further.

Preheat the oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit (175 deg Celsius).

If you enjoy this recipe, don't miss this chocolate bison chili and this three sisters bean stew, also from New Native Kitchen, or check out the books in our shop.

2. Weigh the Flour

Use a bowl and kitchen scale to weigh the flour. If your child is new to working with a scale, you can show them how to measure the weight, change the units, or use the tare button to zero the scale after placing the bowl on it.

3. Weigh the Salt, Stevia, and Baking Soda

We chose to measure the dry ingredients using one bowl and demonstrate how to use the tare button to zero the scale after each ingredient is added.

4. Sift the Dry Ingredients

One of the highlights of making this chocolate and pumpkin bread pudding recipe is definitely using the flour sifter. Our kids love kitchen gadgets so any opportunity to use them is welcome in our home.

To sift the dry ingredients, place them in the top of the flour sifter. Turn the crank while holding the sifter over a bowl. You will see the ingredients accumulate in the bowl underneath.

This particular recipe calls for sifting after the ingredients are weighed. However, you may find some recipes that call for sifted flour in the ingredient list. In those cases, you would sift before weighing.

It's snowing!!!

You can set this bowl aside when you're done sifting.

5. Add the Water, Oil, & Pumpkin Puree to a Clean Bowl

We followed the same method here as with the dry ingredients. Our daughter added the appropriate amount of water to the bowl using a measuring cup.

Afterward, she turned on the scale and used the tare button to zero the scale with the water-filled bowl on it.

Then she used the kitchen scale to weigh the pumpkin puree needed for the pumpkin bread.

6. Add the Pumpkin Spice to the Bowl

You may also substitute ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon allspice for the pumpkin spice used in this recipe.

7. Crack the Eggs into the Bowl and Whisk

You may notice we have 4 egg yolks but we cracked 2 eggs. Just want to clarify. Our kids thought that was super cool. On this day, it actually happened three times. You may notice this occur frequently if you have young hens at home.

Wash your hands before returning back to the recipe.

You should now have 1 bowl of wet ingredients and 1 bowl of dry ingredients.

8. Gradually Whisk the Dry Ingredients into the Wet Ingredients

Depending on the ages and number of children participating, you may want to assist with this transfer of dry ingredients while the child whisks.

If you want chopped walnuts in your pumpkin bread, this is the perfect time to add them in.

9. Grease your Loaf Pan or Baking Pan

You can use a basting brush or clean cloth to grease the pan with butter. This will ensure your pumpkin bread comes out easily after it's baked.

10. Pour the Pumpkin Bread Mixture into the Pan & Bake

Again, depending on the abilities and number of children, you may want to assist with this process. Alternatively, they may transfer it to the pan with a large spoon.

Bake the pumpkin bread at 350 deg Fahrenheit for 50 to 60 minutes, or until cooked through. Let it cool afterward.

Don't forget to turn off the oven when the pumpkin bread is done.

If you're wondering if this pumpkin bread is good enough to serve on its own, rest assured it's delicious right out of the oven.

Someone mysteriously visited our kitchen and ate some of it while it was cooling. Later, when we came back to the kitchen to make the bread pudding, there was a fork sticking out of the pumpkin bread and no note. I'm guessing they were in a hurry.

We enjoyed a laugh and got back to work.

11. Slice the Pumpkin Bread into Cubes

The recipe calls for 1 ½ inch cubes of pumpkin bread. Our kids used the cookbook pictures as inspiration and cut the bread accordingly.

You can see our 3 y.o. daughter is using strength and concentration to slice through her half of the pumpkin loaf.

Our 5 y.o. son examined the cookbook and sliced his half of the bread until he was satisfied with the result.

When he finished, he helped his sister cut her slices into cubes.

12. Arrange the Cubes of Pumpkin Bread in a Baking Dish

We used this large rectangular baking dish to hold all of our pumpkin bread cubes. Our daughter enjoyed putting each cube in its place, decorating the bottom of this beautiful dish.

You can grease your baking dish beforehand if needed.

When she was satisfied with how it was all laid out, we moved on to making the custard.

13. Crack 4 Eggs into a Clean Bowl & Whisk

Preheat the oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit (175 deg Celsius).

Wash your hands before returning back to the recipe.

14. Add the Stevia, Salt, and Vanilla

The child can practice the same method of weighing the stevia with the kitchen scale.

15. Slowly Whisk Hot Milk into the Egg Mixture

Heat the milk in a small pot over medium heat. When it reaches a heavy simmer, remove the pot from heat. Turn off the stove.

Slowly whisk the hot milk into the bowl. This will prevent the eggs from curdling.

Pour the contents of the bowl over the pumpkin bread cubes.

Taking a short break to make some animal noises.

16. Add the Chocolate Chips to the Top of the Pumpkin Bread

Place the baking dish in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

17. Prepare a Water Bath & Bake the Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Place the baking dish with the chocolate and pumpkin bread pudding into the large oven-safe pan. Pour hot water into the oven-safe pan until it's about halfway up the sides of your baking dish.

Place it in the oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Turn off the oven.

Serve your chocolate and pumpkin bread pudding warm.

Conclusion for Chocolate & Pumpkin Bread Pudding

This is everyone's new favorite dessert and we hope you enjoy making it as much as we have. If you end up eating pumpkin bread instead of pumpkin bread pudding, that's okay too. You can always give it another go and then you'll have two new favorite desserts.

Free Chocolate & Pumpkin Bread Pudding Recipe for Pre-Readers and Up

Grab your free printable recipe cards above. Kids can gather ingredients using the ingredient list, gather their equipment with the tools list, and prepare the meal using the step-by-step recipe cards, with assistance as needed.

The cards are easy to use, include pictures, and encourage confidence and independence in the kitchen. They also make an excellent addition to your Montessori continent box for North America