TWD: Apple Apple Bread Pudding

Wow, I have been totally slacking with Tuesdays with Dorie! Don't get me wrong, I actually made both the Burnt Sugar Ice Cream and the Quick Classic Berry Tart and I even took pictures (not good pictures...) and then I just could not get a post up in time. I've been so insanely busy- May is always a wild month- but that's really no excuse. So last night after I put the girls to bed and whipped up a four layer chocolate cake for my brother Jordan's 23rd birthday, I decided that I had to make this Apple-Apple Bread Pudding and actually post on it! The thing is, I don't really like bread pudding so I wasn't too excited about this recipe. But you know what? I was pleasantly surprised! I mean, I still don't love the consistency of bread pudding, but the flavor was great. I used some homemade challah for this recipe and I think that really added to the success of this bread pudding.


The pudding is a layer of challah spread with apple butter topped with caramelized apples and another layer of challah spread with apple butter. A mixture of cream, milk, eggs, and egg yolks is then poured over the entire thing and is left to soak for about 30 minutes before being baked in a water bath. I think the chunks of caramelized apples really enhanced the texture of the bread pudding. Thanks Elizabeth of Cake or Death? for picking this very nice recipe.

TWD: Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding

Bread pudding...I've always found it to be a strange concept- stale bread, soaked in a cream and egg mixture, then baked in a water bath? Let's face it, it's just odd. I've never been the biggest fan, but I figured that I'd try this one out because it is a chocolate bread pudding after all! This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle (the recipe can be found on her blog). I'll be honest with you, I didn't love this dessert- but I didn't dislike it either. The flavor was delicious- creamy, chocolaty, rich, but I just can't get past the strange texture of bread pudding. It just has that weird almost wet, squishy thing going on and I can't stop thinking about the fact that there are pieces of bread in it. Anyway, that's obviously my issue because the bread pudding lovers in my life really enjoyed it!


I used brioche with raisins from a local bakery for my bread and I think that the buttery-ness of the brioche really added to the richness of the dessert and soaked up the liquid really nicely. I cut the loaf up and let it sit out on the counter for two days so that the pudding wouldn't be soggy and that method seemed to work well. I refrigerated the pudding overnight before cutting into it and it held its shape beautifully. I can't say that I'd make this again for myself but I would definitely make it for anyone who requested it because it was very very easy to make!

So, in other news I'm finally in the third trimester of this pregnancy and July seems closer than ever! Pretty much every random stranger in the grocery store, mall, etc. feels the need to tell me that I look like I'm "about to go any day now"...umm ok how about three months from now?! The only person who seems not to have noticed the watermellon that has sprung up in my mid-section is Helen Mae who has absolutely no concept of her new little sibling's impending arrival. Thank goodness she has mad pouting skills: