I posted a photo of one of our new Thanksgiving dinner must-haves: Double Apple Bread Pudding. I can’t take credit for this recipe since it’s based on one by America’s Test Kitchen. I tweaked it to make it a little simpler and to also pump up the apple, cinnamon, and vanilla flavors. It does take at least an hour and a half to assemble/soak the ingredients and another 45 minutes to bake, but it’s totally worth it! If you want to see more recipes, you can visit the Cook’s Treat page on my website or download Recipes for the Romantic Soul which is free on Kindle Unlimited. Grab your copy at https://amzn.to/49YMIyy.
Ingredients
6 cups challah, hand torn into 1/2-inch cubes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup apple cider or good apple juice
2 large Granny Smith apples cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1¼ cups heavy cream
Directions
Butter an 8×8 baking dish. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Tear the challah into 1/2-inch cubes. You can cut it, but I think it looks better when it’s in rough pieces. If you can’t find challah, use a good brioche. Spread the challah on a cookie sheet, toss occasionally, and dry in the oven for about 15 minutes. Let the bread cool. Set aside 3/4 cups of the bread crumbs to make a crumble topping later.
Melt 2 Tbsp butter in skillet. Add 1/4 cup brown sugar and apple cider and stir until sugar has dissolved. Stir in apples, cover, and simmer for about 4 minutes. Then uncover and cook for another 4 minutes or until apples are translucent. Don’t overcook the apples as you want them in nice pieces and not saucy.
Place a strainer over a bowl and drain the liquid from the apples. Press on them lightly to remove the liquid, but don’t mash them. Set the apples aside and place the apple juice you just drained into a measuring cup. Add milk until you get to 1 1/2 cups of liquid. Add 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon to the apple/milk combo and mix. Add the 2 eggs and whisk it all together. Add the heavy cream to this mixture and mix it well. Stir in the apples (gently).
Add the 5 1/4 cups of the toasted bread to the liquid and apple mixture. Toss gently and then transfer to the baking dish and gently press down on the mixture.
Let it soak for 15 minutes and do another gentle press. Wait another 15 minutes and press gently again.
While your doing that, put the 3/4 cup of bread into a bowl and break into small and bigger pieces. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tbsp melted butter. Crumble all the elements together and once the other mixture has finished soaking, top it with this crumble.
Place the baking dish on a baking sheet and cook in the 325 degree oven for about 45 minutes. The center should register 160-165 degrees when you check the temperature. Remove from oven and let it cool (if you can wait that long! LOL!)
I served it with a caramel sauce, but you can also top it with a creme anglaise or whipped cream! Enjoy!
