Stuffed Pumpkin with Cranberry-Raisin Bread Pudding

By Dglmedia

Serve an impressive dinner party dessert stuffed in the season's signature fruit. This top-rated pumpkin recipe calls for all our favorite ingredients: butter, sugar, pecan, cranberries, and a rich Lemon-Vanilla Sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) pumpkin*
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted and divided
• 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 1 (16-ounce) raisin bread loaf, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
• Lemon-Vanilla Sauce

Details

Servings 12

Preparation

Step 1

Cut off top of pumpkin, reserving lid with stem. Scoop out pumpkin seeds and pulp, and reserve for another use. Brush inside of pumpkin shell with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Top with lid.
Bake at 350° for 35 minutes.
Brush inside of baked pumpkin shell with 1 tablespoon butter; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
Stir together eggs and next 6 ingredients; spoon pudding mixture into a lightly greased 8-inch square pan.
Bake pumpkin and bread pudding at 350° for 25 minutes. Let pumpkin cool; spoon bread pudding evenly into pumpkin shell. Serve with Lemon-Vanilla Sauce.
Note: For individual servings, substitute 12 (1/2-pound) pumpkins. Scoop out seeds and pulp; sprinkle each pumpkin shell with 1 teaspoon butter and 1 teaspoon sugar, and bake with the bread pudding. (Do not prebake as with the larger pumpkin.) Spoon bread pudding evenly into baked pumpkin shells.


Lemon-Vanilla Sauce
1 vanilla bean, split
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice


Cook vanilla bean, water, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until smooth and thickened.
Stir in butter and remaining ingredients, and cook until thoroughly heated. Remove vanilla bean.