Pumpkin pie bread & butter pudding

PREP + COOK TIME 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES SERVES 6

750g Jap pumpkin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon mixed spice

100g butter, softened slightly

150g seeds and grains sourdough bread, torn into small pieces

6 eggs, beaten lightly

600ml pouring cream

½ cup (110g) caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

½ cup (60g) coarsely chopped pecans ¼ cup (60ml) pure maple syrup

1 Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease a 2.5 litre (10-cup) ovenproof dish. Line a roasting pan large enough to fit the ovenproof dish, with a clean tea towel.

2 Remove and discard seeds from pumpkin. Cut pumpkin into 2cm wedges. Place pumpkin wedges, slightly overlapping, with the pointed ends facing upwards in ovenproof dish.

3 Sprinkle spices evenly over the pumpkin; dot with butter, smearing the butter on the wedges. Place bread pieces in and around wedges, ensuring some pieces are sitting on top. Roast for 20 minutes or until pumpkin is just starting to soften and bread is golden.

4 Remove dish from oven; place in prepared roasting pan. Reduce oven to 160°C/140°C fan.

5 Beat egg, cream, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Strain through a fine sieve into a large jug. Pour custard mixture over pumpkin; top with pecans. Fill roasting pan with enough boiling water to come three-quarters of the way up the side of the dish.

6 Bake pudding for 50 minutes or until custard is just set in the centre and when a skewer is inserted into the pumpkin there is no resistance. Remove pudding from water; cool for 5 minutes before serving drizzled with maple syrup.