Pumpkin Spoonbread

Pumpkin Spoonbread - Baked

My eyes have been opened to the world of spoonbread. After I made this basic version, I decided to make a holiday version using pumpkin. 

Recipe from Bon Appetit Thanksgiving Edition

Here is my adaption for a less savory version of Bon Appetit's pumpkin spoonbread. It's a super moist cross between pumpkin pie & bread pudding. 

Ingredients

• 2½ cups whole milk
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 
• 2 tsp kosher salt 
• 1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal  
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg I grated my fresh from the nut
• 1 cup canned pure pumpkin purée Bon App recommends Libby's
• 3 large eggs, separated
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground ginger  

For a sweeter version, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar

The Ingredients

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 9"x5” loaf pan. I used my Sur la Table Stoneware medium-sized dish (9½" l x 6" w x 2", 1 ½ qt).

Bring milk, butter, and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan.

Milk & Butter Base

Reduce heat, gradually whisk in cornmeal, and simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in purée.

Cornmeal Base

Whisk egg yolks & spices in a large bowl. 

Egg Yolk & Spice Mixture

Combine cornmeal and egg mixture; set aside. 

Batter Without Egg Whites

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Whew! I did this by hand. Whisk ¼ of egg whites into batter, then gently fold in remaining egg whites. 

Batter with Egg Whites

Pour batter into a pan. Bake until spoon bread is set and begins to pull away from sides of pan, 30–40 minutes. I had to cook it for 50-60 minutes.

Pumpkin Spoonbread in Baking Dish

Immediately after pulling from oven, cut vents in bread to let out steam. Let cool slightly before serving. 

Pumpkin Spoonbread - Baked

Let the pumpkin holiday baking continue!