Day 360 - Salted Caramel Bread Pudding AND Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Guys, it is DAY 360!!!  And the year only has 365 days!!!!  I will leave you to do the math, but suffice it to say that this year long daily project is closing in on the finish line!!!  So with that in mind, today I will review not ONE but TWO, count ‘em, TWO bread puddings!!  You’re welcome.  J

Let’s start out with Salted Caramel Bread Pudding – we bought his because our favorite Trader Joe’s employee Cecilia recommend it on the very first night we met her.  She told us how amazzzzing this bread pudding was, and that it, “Might be even better than her mom’s, but don’t tell her mom…”.

Let's try it!!

Neither David nor I grew up with bread pudding so we do not have a homemade recipe to compare this to.  I think the only time I have ever had bread pudding is at restaurants, so in my mind it was always something “fancy” because I associated it with dessert carts being pushed around in restaurants.  However, Cecilia explained that it is actually a mother’s way of using up EVERYTHING, including bread that is stale, hard and going off, so as not to waste anything.  I like that idea!! 

Cecilia told us that the BEST bread pudding at Trader Joe’s is the Pumpkin one, but when we were shopping to get this it was not yet pumpkin season so we settled on the Salted Caramel one (and went back later to get a Pumpkin one!). 

Find it in a box in the frozen section

The Salted Caramel Bread Pudding was really, really nice!  The preferred heating method listed was the microwave:  take the pudding out of the box, take the little paper wrap off, and let it thaw a bit on the counter, then nuke it.

The first night we had this I thought I followed the directions, but I forgot to take off the paper.  The result was super hard bread pudding.  We put the rest of it in a plastic container and stored it in the fridge.  Then we heat up slices for like 30 seconds (they were defrosted but refrigerated) and it was super good!  It was soft and yummy!  It tastes like “comfort food” even though it is not something that brings up childhood memories for me. 

The flavor is not at all overpowering, but there is enough flavor that it is not bland.  We didn’t even drizzle Dulce de Leche sauce over it as I suspected we would (reviewed here).  It didn’t even NEED sauce over it!  Not that it would HURT it, but it doesn’t beg for it.  We ate it for dessert AND for breakfast J. 

David said, “It is like the soft interior of French Toast.  The whole pudding thing is like a number of pieces of French Toast that have been mushed together and sort of mashed potato-fied themselves.  I would give it a 4.  I think I would like it better if we added a sauce, maybe even maple syrup!!”

I would agree that a 4 is a good score for this one.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding - arrives at TJ's in the autumn when everything magically changes to PUMPKIN flavor!

Now let’s examine the PUMPKIN BREAD PUDDING!  Two reviews in one day, whew!

David:  “This is very nice.  I typically think of bread pudding as something that will be tasteless and bready and dry, but this was nicely moist and tasty, perhaps because we plopped whipped cream and/or ice cream on top.  This is bad for your health, because over the course of last night and this morning I think I have probably stuffed about a pint of whipped cream into my face because of this stuff.”

I would add that eating this is also a good excuse to also drizzle Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce on top – reviewed here .

This is a BIG loaf for only two people to eat (it is the same size as other flavors of TJ’s bread pudding).  We served it at a birthday party, but sadly it turned out that not many guests like PUMPKIN so not a lot got eaten (oops, host and hostess failure on our part there…).  

The good news - we hosted an early birthday party for Joan.  The bad news - she doesn't really like pumpkin...  Lucky we had several other desserts for her, including the Montezuma's chocolate you see that used to have a birthday candle in it!

Like the other bread pudding reviewed, this one is also good for BREAKFAST!  It is very decadent.  I served it with an AFFOGATO, which sounds like avocado yet it is not green with a pit inside.  We had one recently in NYC and I thought, why not make one at home!  I just put ICE CREAM in a cappuccino cup and topped it with espresso.  It was tasty and a good compliment to the bread pudding.  Though with the ice cream it was one more thing to add to the “heart valve clogging ingredients” we consumed that weekend…  Here is a recipe for affogato that I just looked up.  :)

Chocolate gelato, David's choice :)

Affogato in NYC - tasty!!!

We both agreed that the Pumpkin Bread Pudding should get a 3.75.

Price (for either variety of bread pudding) – $3.99

Rating – Salted Caramel Bread Pudding – 4

               Pumpkin Bread Pudding - 3.75