Finally, the moment has come to unveil the “September Food Challenge: Apples” winner in its full glory: Apple Crisp Bread Pudding with Apple Butter Sauce!
Forget dry and bland; this recipe is it! It’s THE bread pudding I’ve been dreaming about – moist, creamy, sweet but not sugary (well, except for the butter sauce), and a little crispy on the outside. It’s addictive in bad good way.I must admit something: I’ve never been impressed with bread pudding. It’s always seemed dry and too bland; but, SO many people love bread pudding!
I often wondered, “Am I missing something?” So I purposely added it to September’s poll, in the hopes that I would be able to produce an awesome version of what seems to be a favorite among almost every culture since the beginning of time.
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No, really. As early as prehistoric times, bread pudding has been found to exist mainly as a way to prevent wasting stale bread. Well, no wonder it often tastes dry and bland!
I made this recipe twice, once in standard muffin tins (makes 24; adjust cooking time to 30-35 minutes), and once in two 9×9″ baking pans. The original recipe I based this off of uses apple brandy and a few different ingredients, but I wanted something a little more wallet friendly (although the liquor would definitely make it more decadent!). Here’s my version.
Apple Crisp Bread Pudding
Yield:
4-6
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
1 hour
Total Time:
1 hour 20 minutes
This apple crisp bread pudding combines moist pound cake cubes soaked in a spiced custard with chunks of Fuji apples and raisins. Topped with a buttery oat crumble and served warm with a rich apple butter sauce, it's a comforting dessert that blends the best of apple crisp and bread pudding.
Ingredients
For the bread pudding:
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup apple juice or apple cider
- 2 Fuji apples
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups half-and-half
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
- 2 packages 10.75oz Sara Lee pound cake (freezer section), cut into 1″ cubes
For the crumb topping:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats (quick oats work fine too)
- 1/2 cup (one stick) cold butter
For the apple butter sauce:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup apple juice or apple cider
- 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
For the bread pudding:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter two 9×9″ baking pans. Set aside.
- Gently simmer the raisins and apple juice in a small saucepan over low heat, until almost all the juice has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and set aside. Peel, core and cut the apples into 1-inch chunks. Add them to a small bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Set aside.
- In large bowl, whisk the eggs, half-and-half, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vanilla, and melted butter until combined. Add the pound cake cubes to the bowl with the egg mixture. Press the cake down into the liquid to cover completely and let soak for 15 minutes while you prepare the crumb topping.
- To make the crumb topping, add the flour, brown sugar, salt, oats, and butter to a small bowl. Using an electric mixer, on medium-low speed, beat the mixture until crumbly. (Sometimes you have to work the mixture with your fingers before the mixer will crumble properly.) Set aside.
- Stir the apples and the raisins into the soaked pound cake. Evenly divide the custard among the two pans. Sprinkle each custard with the crumb topping. Put the pans on foil-lined baking sheets and bake until the pudding has turned golden and is set, about 55-65 minutes. Remove the puddings from the oven and allow them to cool in the pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Serve warm with the Apple Butter Sauce (below).
For the apple butter sauce:
- In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the sugar and stir until combined. Whisk in the heavy cream, apple juice, egg yolks and salt. Whisk over medium heat until the sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. Do not let the sauce come to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Serve warm with the Apple Crisp Bread Pudding.
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