Apple, raisins and bread cubes	Apple Rum Raisin Bread Pudding

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Apple Rum Raisin Bread Pudding

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 8, 2013

Yield: 12 servings

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Ingredients

• 3/4 cup raisins

• 1 1/2 cups Woodchuck Amber Hard Cider

• 6 Tbsp dark rum

• 12 cups day-old Fazio’s Italian rolls, cut in 1-in cube

For crumb topping:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar

For pudding:

• 4 large eggs

• 1 large egg yolk

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar

• 5 cups half-and-half

• 2 tsp vanilla

• 1 tsp Penzey’s Extra Fancy Vietnamese Cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• Butter, for buttering baking dish

• 2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped small

For Raisin Apple Rum Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

• 1 large egg

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar

• Reserved cider-rum syrup

For serving:

• Caramel sauce

• Vanilla sauce such as crème anglaise

• Whipped cream

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Preparation

"Plump" raisins by soaking in hard cider and rum for at least 12 hours.

Let bread cubes dry for at least 12 hours.

Drain raisins, saving cider-rum mixture. Set aside.

For cider-rum syrup, in a saucepan, simmer cider-rum mixture until it reduces to a syrupy 1/4 cup. Cool to room temperature. Set aside.

For crumb topping, with your fingers, combine 1 stick slightly softened butter, flour and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a bowl until mealy. Set aside.

In a very large bowl, whisk 4 eggs and egg yolk until fully combined, then whisk in 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, half-and-half, vanilla, spices and salt.

For measuring purposes, place most of bread cubes in a 9-inch-by-13 inch baking dish, reserving leftover cubes. Pour the baking dish’s cubes into the bowl with the egg-cream mixture and gently stir. Let soak for 10 to 30 minutes, long enough for cubes to become wet but not saturated.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Liberally butter the 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish.

Turn apples and drained raisins into bread mixture. Gently pour into baking dish and distribute evenly. Tuck dry leftover bread cubes among the wet cubes, gently pressing into the liquid about halfway, leaving tops exposed.

Spread crumb topping evenly across bread pudding.

Bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden, the center jiggles slightly and the pudding begins to pull away from sides. If needed, increase temperature to 450 degrees for the last 5 minutes. The bread pudding will puff out of the baking dish, then settle back in.

Let rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Make Raisin Apple Rum Sauce. In a saucepan, whisk melted butter and egg, then whisk in sugar and brown sugar. Over low heat, cook just until sugar melts and sauce is smooth, whisking the entire time. Remove from heat and whisk in cider-rum syrup.

To serve Cicero’s-style, pour thin lines of caramel sauce and vanilla sauce around the rim of a round white bowl, then “feather” outward with the tines of a fork. Pool Raisin Apple Rum Sauce in the bottom of the bowl, top with a square of warm bread pudding and a "healthy pile" of whipped cream.

Notes: Find Woodchuck Amber Hard Cider near the beer area in larger grocery stores.