Apple Bread Pudding

Rita Sleys -

Don't let the name of this bread pudding fool you! Here at the Rosemont Inn, we vary the fruit added based on the season. Spring? Strawberry Bread Pudding will be on the menu! Summer? Blueberry Bread Pudding for sure! For Autumn and Winter, Apple and Pumpkin Currant are a must. You get the idea. Experiment and make this your own.

Ingredients

12 cups bread, cubed (We use brioche, but any sturdy white bread will work. Brioche adds extra flavor and richness.)

4 eggs, preferably pastured

1 1/2 cups vanilla yogurt

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated preferred

1/2 cup sugar, preferably organic cane sugar

1/2 cup raisins or dried currants

3 small to medium apples, cored and chopped

Cinnamon Sugar for sprinkling on top (2T sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon)

Caramel Sauce

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup brown sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Place cubed bread in pan and toast until dry, about 10-15 minutes.
  3. While the bread is toasting in the oven, in a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. Beat until smooth and frothy.
  4. Stir in chopped apples and raisins (or currants). Fold in toasted bread cubes. Allow to sit and absorb custard for about 1/2 an hour at room temperature. (You may cover and refrigerate the night before baking if that works better with your schedule. That is what we do here at the Rosemont Inn.)
  5. Pour into a well buttered 9x13 glass pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake 40-50 minutes until puffed, golden brown and the custard is set in the center.

Make the Sauce

  1. In a heavy saucepan, combine all the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil.
  2. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes until sauce thickens. Set aside to cool slightly before serving.

When the bread pudding is done, remove from oven and cut into 8-12 servings. Pour caramel sauce over each portion. We like to serve this with a side of our famous chicken sausage.

Notes:

This is a very flexible recipe. Substitute an equal amount of strawberries, blueberries, peaches, plums or other fruits for the apples. Usually we omit the raisins when using berries.

Instead of the caramel sauce, try serving a "matching" sauce with the fruit. So strawberry sauce with strawberry, blueberry sauce with blueberry. Maple syrup is also good if you don't want to bother making any sauce.

For pumpkin, add a teaspoon of ground ginger along with 1 cup of pumpkin puree in place of the chopped apples.

NOTES: This can be mixed, poured into a buttered pan and frozen for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, but cooking time will need to be doubled.