I hope you all enjoy this Caramel Apple Bread Pudding. I’ve been working on perfecting this for quite a while. Yep, I had to take one for the team and sample more than one early prototype!
I’m obsessive about the taste and quality of my recipes, especially desserts! Maybe it’s because we hardly had dessert when I was a kid so I think each one should be a celebration! This bread pudding is.
Caramel Apple Bread Pudding with Easy Butterscotch Caramel Sauce
About Caramel Apple Bread Pudding:
There’s something about everyone and everything that starts with humble beginnings and transforms with love and care into something that is somehow more than could ever be expected.
Bread pudding is one of those little miracles. It’s that loaf of bread that sat too long (or one you’ve bought and “aged”), a few apples, a couple of eggs, a little milk and cream, a palmful of spices, and admittedly a hefty dose of sugar. Nothing more than time, care, and love morph those basics into a standout dessert.
In this dessert, bread pudding is outstanding, soft, custardy, and perfumed by grated apples wending throughout. If that isn’t enough, there are caramelly apples layered through the center, just a little extra over-the-top touch. I can almost guarantee a bit of caramelly apple in every bite!
Easy Caramel Butterscotch Sauce
Serving:
This is ideal for a get-together and the ultimate make-ahead dessert. Make it before a meal and serve barely warm and a bit wobbly or a day or two ahead so it firms up and slices cleanly – either is outstanding.
I like to drive that caramel apple vibe by drizzling with either my easy Butterscotch Caramel Sauce (above) or my Salted Caramel Sauce if ya want to be fancier (below). Ice cream isn’t necessary but I wouldn’t say no.
Toffee Caramel Cheesecake, garnished with homemade Salted Caramel Sauce and Milky Way Bars
Preparing the Bread:
When cutting the bread if any of the crust is hard, feel free to shave it off, but don’t take too much; you’ll want as close to a pound loaf as possible. Removing all the crust can reduce 1 pound to 9 ounces, affecting the recipe!
Use a serrated knife for cutting. Cut into slices (or buy sliced) and then into cubes. Smaller cubes cook up with better texture and look prettier. Shoot for 1/2″ to 3/4.”
Dry the bread, open to the air, if there is a safe place, for a day or two or toss in a 300-degree F. oven on a rimmed sheet pan until dry, about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring halfway through or as needed. Don’t brown.
Just out of the oven, golden brown: Caramel Apple Bread Pudding
The Apples:
- Any apple will work but a tart cooking apple, like Granny Smith, is best for baking.
- Apples that have been sitting on the counter for a bit too long and have some marks of age (possibly a few wrinkles) are ideal for this recipe! They’re a little drier rather than juicier.
- Four of the apples will be cooked in butter with brown sugar added after they’ve softened. That forms a bit of a caramel sauce. Follow the size as closely as possible. Too large and they’ll take forever to cook and too small they’ll almost disappear.
- To make it easy, peel and then cut with an apple slicer. Cut the slices into smaller pieces. To do all by hand, cut the “cheeks” off. Slice, then dice them. One of the rotary apple peeler gadgets is not ideal for this; the apple will be cut too thinly.
- Take your time gently cooking – it can take up to 20 minutes, maybe a little longer. Start out with the lid on, simmering for several minutes, stirring, and relidding. After they soften, add the brown sugar and continue to cook, lid off, until mostly tender.
Storing & Reheating:
Refrigerating or Freezing:
- To refrigerate, cool to room temperature and store tightly covered for three to four days.
- To freeze, cool first and double wrap individual portions or a whole pan. Thaw before heating.
Reheating:
- Reheat portions in the microwave for two to three minutes.
- Reheat a panful in the oven: Bring to room temperature and reheat covered at 350 degrees F., for 20 to 30 minutes. Uncover and heat for 10 to 15 minutes longer until heated through. Watch that it does not become overly browned.
- Reheat a panful after freezing: Thaw overnight in the fridge then follow the directions above.
Saving Money on Caramel Apple Bread Pudding:
If an option, most of these items are best brought at discount stores like Aldi or Lidl. If not, check what might be on sale before most holidays: See Win at the Grocery.
Bread:
- The biggest flex is making your own. Sandwich loaves are often on sale. Large, one-pound loaves of Italian can be found for around $1.00, and better, day-old bakery loaves are usually discounted. Bread freezes well for short periods, tightly wrapped. Thaw overnight (try upside down) in the fridge.
- For bread pudding, strata, stuffings, or making breadcrumbs or croutons, stale bread works best.
Apples:
- Apples are in season in the fall and quality, varieties and pricing will be best. There will be good pricing in January and February as apples come out of cold storage and need to be moved quickly.
- At the grocery, larger bags are often a bargain. Inspect to make sure they’re not damaged or bruised.
Cream:
- Cream is always cheaper at discount groceries. Their everyday price beats out the buyer’s club and the best grocery store holiday sales price.
- Cream keeps for weeks so if the standard grocery is the only option, get in the habit of picking at a low before holidays.
Milk:
- Discount stores usually have the best pricing, buyer’s clubs next; now and then it’s on sale at the grocery. If that’s the case, buy at the beginning and end of the week.
- Don’t confuse “best if sold by” or “best if used by” dates with spoilage; these are not safety dates. Use your nose! Keep it capped and refrigerated on the bottom shelf, not the door, and don’t leave it hanging at the table while eating – it will last much longer.
Eggs:
- Both Aldi & Lidl, as well as buyer’s clubs, have great everyday prices but usually do not approach a great pre-holiday grocery store sales price.
- If you have room, stock up at a low. Eggs keep several weeks after the “buy by” date. They are best stored in the original container on the bottom shelf, not the door.
Sugar & Brown Sugar:
- Basic pantry items should be bought when the price is rock bottom and in enough quantity to last until the next great sale, not when needed.
- For larger amounts, buyer’s clubs are good. Discount stores often beat out the best grocery sale prices.
- At the grocery, look for rock-bottom pricing from Thanksgiving through New Year and again before Easter.
- See my post on Making Your Own Brown Sugar.
Caramel Apple Bread Pudding with Easy Caramel Butterscotch Sauce
Caramel Apple Bread Pudding
- Prep Time: start ahead!
- Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
- 1 pound loaf bread cut into 3/4 inch cubes, dried; challah, brioche, or a store bakery large Italian loaf all work (see note)
- 5 apples, peeled, 1 grated on large holes of grater, 4 cut into 1/2 inch dice
- 3 tablespoons butter plus a little additional to coat pan
- 1/3 cup brown or dark brown sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves (optional)
- 2 cups cream
- 2 cups milk
- 1 – 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (to top)
Butter a large baking dish, 8×11″ or 9×13″
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and place a pan of water on the bottom shelf.
Prepare apples, place in a medium-sized saucepan with the 3 tablespoons butter. Using medium-high heat, cook the apples, lidded, for about 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Turn temperature to medium, remove lid, and cook, stirring often until a knife penetrates any larger pieces easily with little resistance. Add the brown sugar, stir to dissolve, and remove apples from heat. Allow to cool while preparing the custard.
In a medium-sized bowl, prepare the custard. Add eggs and whisk, then add the sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves and whisk well. Whisk in the cream, then the milk.
Place the bread (along with any crumbs) into a large bowl, pour the custard over, and gently fold the breadcrumbs once to coat. Allow to sit for 15 minutes. Gently press down on the bread once or twice during this period. Layer about two-thirds of the bread mixture in the bottom of prepared baking pan.
Dollop the apples over and drizzle any remaining apple/butter/brown sugar juices evenly over the top. (If the juices have hardened, gently reheat. Some may not come out of the pan; that’s ok.) Add the remaining bread mixture over the top along with any liquid from soaking; try to get good coverage. Perfection isn’t necessary; the bread will expand as it bakes.
Sprinkle the top with sugar. Bake, covered with foil, for thirty minutes. Remove (do not discard foil) and continue to bake, thirty to fifty minutes longer, until the top is golden brown and the custard is set. A knife inserted two inches from the center should come out clean; a little clear moisture is ok. If while baking, the edges become darker than the center, cover with strips of foil torn from the original sheet.
Preparing the Bread:
If there is a safe place to do so, bread cubes may be dried in the open air for two to three days. If not, dry in the oven on a large sheet tray (or two) at 300 degrees F. for 20 to 30 minutes, redistributing every 10 minutes. Do not allow to brown. The oven may be turned off and the door cracked when nearly finished, and the cubes allowed to sit until dry.
