You look like a monkey and you smell like one too….
Once again, my ability to stop time has failed, and my birthday has rolled around again.
I’ll admit that 37 was not quite the year I thought it was going to be, it had a high learning curve, but then I guess you need those every now and then.
This year I will be celebrating in an unorthodox capacity…I’m going to Beer fest. I actually already went to one a couple of weeks ago, but this is the big Seattle one and I didn’t really have any plans. We are making the controversial (read most likely regret later) decision to bring the dog. My husband cringed at this idea, but it’s my birthday so he has to go along with it. 
Don’t worry, Crazy Cocker Spaniel won’t be doing any beer sampling. She will however most likely be annoying people and trying to jump and lick on them. Which some people like to get jumped…and licked, just not usually by animals. 
I don’t usually bother with a cake for my birthday. Since my husband’s birthday is three days after mine we make cake for him. Unfortunately for me though, he likes BOXED yellow cake with STORE BOUGHT icing. Oh the horror. But as a good little wife I make it. I do however want a birthday treat of my own.
So when I ran across a recipe that encompassed all the food I love (except no bacon darn it all) I almost fell over. Pumpkin. Love that. Cheesecake. Love that. Bread Pudding. Duh, love that. But a Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread Pudding…are you F*ing serious with that. They were.
It was about as awesome as it sounds. Next time I might add a little more spice to mine but other than that, oh my. And now that I’ve made one, I see many more Cheesecake based Bread Puddings in my future. Watch out hips…here it comes. I topped mine with some butterscotch sauce that a friend of mine brought back from Oregon. You can use a caramel sauce just fine.
Hope everyone has a great Canada Day (those celebrating it) and I hope you all enjoy my birthday (July 2nd)…have a beer, it will be like you are with me. 
Birthday Girl Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread Pudding
14 to 16 1/2 inch slices brioche
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
6 eggs
1 15-oz can pumpkin
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
For the topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
Preheat to 350F. Set rack in middle. Spray a 9-x-13-inch oven proof glass (I used metal) baking dish with baking spray.
Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and mix until smooth.
Combine eggs, pumpkin, milk, heavy cream, salt, and spices in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment,. Beat until smooth. Add cream cheese mixture and combine.
Pour 1/2 cup custard in bottom of baking dish. Tilt and swirl dish until bottom is completely covered with thin layer of custard. Layer 6 slices of brioche on top of custard. Pour half of the remaining custard over brioche. Add remain brioche and custard in layers.
Use a knife to cut 8 slits though layered pudding. Cover the top of pudding with plastic wrap and press down gently with your palm. Let stand 15 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and sprinkle brown sugar over top of pudding. Pour melted butter over sugar.
Place baking dish on a rack in a large meal pan. Pour hot water from glass forming a water bath. You want to go half way up the side. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until top is nicely browned and the custard has risen to top of baking dish. Check water bath occasionally and add more water if needed. Do not let the water evaporate from the water bath.
Carefully remove baking dish room oven and water bath. Allow pudding to cool on rack 1 hour. Serve slightly warm or cold. Store covered with a paper towel and plastic wrap in refrigerator.
Adapted from Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters by Marilynn Brass and Shelia Brass
58 Responses
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June 29th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
oh wow this sounds heavenly! happy birthday!
June 29th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Happy Birthday, birthday girl! And I am so down with the pumpkin. I have however broken my husband of his also unfortunate desire for boxed cakes. Time can cure!
June 29th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
Happy Birthday!!! Ugh, I cannot get over how delicious this sounds. Bread pudding is my weakness.
June 29th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Man, they are weird.
I can cook up a storm but he just adores fried rice and can eat that everyday.
June 29th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Happy birthday! This is amazingly does not look like bread pudding. It makes me think of that lovely “crust” on the outside of a pound cake. YUM!
June 29th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
Happy, happy birthday, Peabody! Hope its a wicked good one.
June 29th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
Happy birthday! Your husband has got to be CRAZY to prefer cake mix and store bought frosting to this. (And I meant that in the nicest way possible.)
June 29th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
Happy birthday!! The bread pudding looks divine
June 29th, 2010 at 11:03 pm
Happy Bithday! That pudding looks heavenly!
Cheers,
Rosa
June 30th, 2010 at 2:34 am
Happy birthday, Gracie! Love you! XOXOXOXXOXOXO
June 30th, 2010 at 2:43 am
Hope you have a blast on your birthday! Glad you found a dessert that has your favourite things. Nos, let’s get that beer!
June 30th, 2010 at 3:59 am
I know why I loke you we like the same things AND we are both Cancers…i wish someone would make this for me today for my birthday!
June 30th, 2010 at 5:07 am
Happy birthday Peabody. You can celebrate your birthday however you like, delicious bread pudding, beer and all.
June 30th, 2010 at 5:19 am
Happy Birthday chica! Sitting back with good beer(s) and some PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE BREAD PUDDING (um, hello HEAVEN) sounds like the perfect way to celebrate. So can calories not count for ME on your birthday as well? Because I seriously need an excuse to make this.
June 30th, 2010 at 5:35 am
Happy Birthday! The bread pudding looks delicious!
June 30th, 2010 at 7:09 am
Happy birthday! That looks awesome!
June 30th, 2010 at 7:35 am
Happy Birthday! Enjoy Beer Fest & I’ll enjoy the bread pudding…
June 30th, 2010 at 7:51 am
Oh my goodness – these are my favorite things also. I am going to have to convince my cheesecake hating husband to actually let me make this.
Happy Birthday!
June 30th, 2010 at 8:27 am
Happy birthday, Peabody!!
Enjoy the beer fest, I’m a little jealous! We had one here in Columbus a while ago, but it was a little too pricey. Too bad, because I just took a “Beer & Wine in Western Culture” class! You should let us know which beers you tried and liked (if you can remember them all
)
This bread pudding looks amazing; my boyfriend also loves store-bought and pre-packaged to homemade. All the more from-scratch goodies for us!
June 30th, 2010 at 8:43 am
Aw, yeah! Thanks for passing this along and I’m sooo looking forward to all your adaptions. Bring ‘em on!
Happy Birthday!
~ingrid
June 30th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Happy, Happy Birthday! I hope this year brings you everything you wish for (and many more fantastic recipes and photos for us)!
June 30th, 2010 at 10:14 am
Happy Birthday Peabody!
June 30th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Happy birthday!!!!!!!!!
June 30th, 2010 at 10:57 am
Happy Birthday! You made such a delicious dessert for yourself. Oh and I may just have one or two beers tonight. It’s summer right?
June 30th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Happy Birthday!!!
What a cutie pie you were on that elephant!
June 30th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Crumble some bacon on top, drizzle it with carmel (my other obsession) grab a spoon and call it a day. Have a glorious birthday celebration!
June 30th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Happy Birthdayy! This looks amazingly good, ive never had pumpkin in a dessert before, yum.
June 30th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
And here I thought this would be a post for monkey bread! (The bread pudding sounds fantastic, however.) Happy birthday, Peabody!
June 30th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Happybirthday for July 2! This bread pudding sounds devine …
June 30th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
How on earth were you able to meld three of my favorite desserts together? That is amazing as always. Happy Birthday!
June 30th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Happy birthday Peabody! Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread Pudding HAS to be better than any cake! Hope yo enjoy the beer fest too.
July 1st, 2010 at 5:22 am
Thank you for the nice comment on my blog! And oh my, that Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread Pudding (!) looks absolutely fantastic. As do most of the mouthwatering things you feature on your blog. I desperately wish I had your culinary skills. (Your husband would love me because the only cakes I can bake come out of boxes
)
Early wishes for a very happy birthday!
July 1st, 2010 at 7:39 am
Happy Birthday!
I will definitely have a beer, but I have to confess to liking crappy beer. Where I’m from, you can get flogged for that, so it will have to be a clandestine beer.
July 1st, 2010 at 11:46 am
Sorry for being late but I hope you had an awesome birthday
July 1st, 2010 at 11:56 am
happy Cananda day! and happy birthday, too…i will have a beer in your honor!
July 1st, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Wow, all your favorite food groups in one recipe! I wish you a Very Happy Birthday, indeed, Peabody.Meanwhile, we are enjoying our Canada Day this July 1st, however the weather feels like October.
July 1st, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Happy Birthday!
p.s. I think you should take the bunny instead of the dog to beerfest. A drunk bunny is always more entertaining than a drunk dog.
July 1st, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Happy birthday!!! And pumpkin cheesecake bread pudding? No, no no. With butterscotch sauce? No, no, NO! And by “no,” I mean, why am I not there to eat some??
July 1st, 2010 at 7:31 pm
Happy Birthday!
What a great idea, cheesecake and bread pudding in one. Why not just caramalize some bacon and sprinkle it on top?
July 1st, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Oh and regarding the cake mix and canned icing thing? My sister-in-law, when I offered to make her a cake one year for her birthday, requested a McCains Deep and Delicious frozen cake that you can buy for $1.99. Bleh! So I sympathize with you on that birthday cake.
July 1st, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Hope your birthday is extra special. The Birthday Girl Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread Pudding looks great. You’re right – what’s not to like?
July 2nd, 2010 at 1:42 am
merry and cheerful birthday to you–enjoy your day (and your treats).
July 2nd, 2010 at 7:50 am
Happy Birthday! This sounds like the perfect way to celebrate your birthday. Beer, bread pudding, and the pooch. Your husband, as many wonderful qualities as he has, is certifiable.
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:10 am
We’re birthday buddies! I hope you have a super day. I, for one, am planning to eat as many of my favorites as possible. Here’s to us!
July 2nd, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Happy Birthday!! I’ll just be over here drooling over that bread pudding…
July 2nd, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Have a great birthday today! And all the chocolate and beer you want!
July 2nd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Today’s the big day! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Enjoy!
July 2nd, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Happy birthday!
July 3rd, 2010 at 8:51 am
Happy Birthday!!!
WOW WOW WOW This is my dream come true too! It has been bookmarked and it’s quite possible I’ll be making it for my own birthday in September!
July 3rd, 2010 at 9:41 am
I am late in response so I hope your birthday was splendiferous.
This concoction of goodies sounds wonderful.
By the way, you are looking grand!
July 3rd, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Happy Belated! Hope you had a great day.
July 3rd, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Happy Birthday! I hope the decision to bring the dog is a good one!
July 3rd, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Happy birthday! Well done on both the beer fest and the bread pudding. Love the vintage birthday pic!
July 4th, 2010 at 3:57 am
Happy Birthday!!! That sounds absolutely sinful
July 4th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Happy Birthday! This sounds AMAZING…something that’s definitely needed for those non raw vegan hours
July 4th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
That’s my birthday too! hope you had a great day.
(I made red velvet cake, mmm…)
July 10th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
A belated happy birthday! And I totally agree with the love of pumpkin, cheesecake, and bread pudding. Yum!
July 12th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
A VERY Happy Birthday to you. VERY VERY late happy birthday wishes from me to you.
Yes, I am over the edge and fighting my way back … maybe if I make this Birthday Girl Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread Pudding life will become more manageable and nobody needs to know it’s not my birthday while I eat it because I’ll be thinking of you and singing happy birthday to you.