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15 minutes, the oven will take care of the rest 6 people

By Doreen Colondres

This pudding is one of my favorite desserts, it tastes like pure autumn and winter. It is dangerous, because I am not a big fan of desserts, but I want to devour this one. To avoid temptations, I share it with people I love. My neighbors, family and friends say that is extremely tasty and irresistible.

What you need:

• 1/2 French style baguette, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1/2 cup of regular or low-fat milk
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes less than 1 inch (I mix regular pumpkin and butternut squash)
• 1/2 cup sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
• 2 tbsp. Grand Marnier
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. of nutmeg

• 1 egg (optional for egg wash)
• Butter (for the mold)
• Toasted walnuts, pecans or Marcona almonds (optional)

What you need to do:

1. Preheat oven to 375 ℉.
2. In a medium saucepan, boil the pumpkin and the squash for 8-10 minutes or until cooked, do not overcook it so it doesn't absorb water). Strain it and set aside.
3. Place the bread into a long, deep pan and set aside.
4. In another container, mix two eggs, add the milk, Grand Marnier, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, sugar and mix again. Then add the pumpkin and mix gently to break some, but not all of the pieces.
5. Add the milk mixture to the bread pan, combine and set aside for 10 minutes, mixing gently occasionally.
6. Using butter, grease the baking dish, then pour the mixture and bake for 25 minutes. To make it a bit crispy and golden brown on top, mix the extra egg and using a brush, moisten the top of the pudding. Do this process after cooking the bread pudding for 10 minutes. In the 10-15 minutes left, it will look like a magazine add.
7. Remove it from the oven and enjoy warm with toasted walnuts, pecans or Spanish Marcona almonds on top.

* To toast the nuts, simply pour them in a dry skillet and place over medium heat. Shake the skillet to flatten the nuts into a single layer. All you want is to "wake up" the aroma and make them a bit crunchier.