’08 Advent Calendar, Day 2
Apples are a particular favorite of mine this time of year. Varieties range from sweet to tart, they can be used for snacking out of hand, baking, mashing, or even braising, and they pair equally well with sweet or savory ingredients.
They’re extra-delicious in caramelized apple bread pudding, too. What’s not to love?
For the 2007 Advent Calendar, click here.
recipe after the jump
Caramelized Apple Bread Pudding
I prefer bread pudding that isn’t very sweet, and this recipe reflects that. If you want something a little more dessert-like, feel free to add more sugar to the apples and/or to the bread. For a richer dish, substitute heavy cream for some of the whole milk. Or go completely nuts and swirl in a little dulce de leche, if you have some languishing in your refrigerator. Basically, just consider this a template and play around with it.
5 spicy-sweet, crisp apples (Crispin, Jonagold, Honeycrisp), peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges apiece
3 tablespoons butter
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar, depending on the sweetness of the apples
cinnamon to taste
sprinkle of ground mace
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 day-old loaf of challah bread or equal amount of croissants, broken into 2-inch pieces
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons pure cane syrup (I use Steen’s)
splash of bourbon or Tennessee whiskey
1 tablespoon sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a medium-sized baking dish.
Heat butter in nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add apple slices and sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar, cooking and stirring occasionally for a few minutes until apples just begin to turn tender. Sprinkle with remaining brown sugar, a few dashes of cinnamon, mace, cardamom and lemon zest. Cook for a few minutes longer, until apples are soft but not falling apart and edges are golden brown. Spoon apples into the buttered baking dish in an even layer and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together, eggs, milk, vanilla and almond extracts, cane syrup, and bourbon. Add bread, pressing down so it absorbs the egg mixture evenly. Once all of the liquid has been absorbed, break apart a piece of bread to make sure it’s uniformly moist inside, not dry at all. If it is dry, add a little milk and let it sit until absorbed.
Spoon bread mixture over the apples in the baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour, or until top is lightly browned and toothpick inserted into the center of the dish comes out clean. (It could take longer than an hour, depending on how moist the bread mixture was to begin. This is a dish you have to play by ear a bit everytime you make it.)
That sounds wonderful. And yes please to the splash of Jack Daniels. And a bit of dulce de leche.
big. fat. yum.
Comment by Mary Coleman — December 2, 2008 @ 8:48 am
You and Gil must plan a visit to Charlottesville to come collect your own apples atop Carter Mountain, just a few minutes from my house – Jonagolds, Pink Ladies, Fujis, Winesaps, and Albemarle Pippins, just to name a few… My favorite part of the trip to the orchard, however, is that first indescribably delicious and heart-clogging bite of a hot, sugared apple cider doughnut served fresh from the fryer. We’ll keep the arteries clear by downing some local red wine (surprising good) while gazing at the spectacular view of the Blue Ridge mountains.
Comment by Cecily — December 2, 2008 @ 10:37 am
Just a splash, now, Mary. Well, one splash for the dish and two for the cook.
Hey, Cec – Your description of the doughnut has me packing my bags. Yum.
Comment by Amy — December 2, 2008 @ 9:22 pm
oh my, this looks absolutely irresistible. i love treats that you can enjoy both late at night and early in the morning
Comment by megan — December 3, 2008 @ 11:33 pm
Or even mid-day! Hey, I thought you were going to do an Advent Calendar this year, Megan! Or maybe you have too much planning going on already?
Comment by Amy — December 4, 2008 @ 5:19 am
yet another winner
i am enamored with custardy bread puddings
thank you for not adding raisins
Comment by claudia (cook eat FRET) — December 4, 2008 @ 10:22 pm
It’s too much like finding a bloated bug when you discover a raisin in your bread pudding.
Comment by Amy — December 5, 2008 @ 8:27 am
[...] you know, I’m no stranger to the charms of bread pudding and I’ve often substituted croissants for bread when [...]
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