Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

This recipe is super simple to make, its basically just a matter of soaking bread in some delicious flavors and popping it in the oven so it forms a custardy fall-flavored dessert (or breakfast, I’m not judging… I had it for breakfast.)

I really wanted to bring out the apple flavor in this dish, so instead of soaking the bread in just milk, we’re adding a cup of apple cider in there too! Apple cider is more flavorful than apple juice because cider is raw, unfiltered juice. For apple cider, the apples are mashed, wrapped in cloth, and pressed into a juice. Apple juice has been filtered, and the sediments are removed. Now you know the difference between apple juice and apple cider!

All that to say… if you can’t find apple cider, just use apple juice.

Make sure you tear up your bread and leave it out to dry on a baking sheet for a couple hours, or even overnight. If you don’t want to wait that long, you could just dry out the bread in the oven.

This bread pudding recipe is great for using up old pieces of bread you’re not going to use. For mine, I used a few potato buns that I had nothing to put in, and half a loaf of sourdough bread that had gotten hard. You can use just about any bread for this recipe! No need to cut it up either- I just tore mine into medium-sized pieces. It’s honestly easier that way. Skip the knife and cutting board.

Quick pic before it goes in the oven!

You can use any apples you want for this recipe. I used Gala apples! I didn’t peel my apples, but if you don’t like the skins or just like being an overachiever, go ahead and peel them!

You can totally use store-bought caramel for this, but I gave you a super simple recipe here to make your own! Let’s be honest, homemade caramel is far superior. If you’ve never made it before, I highly recommend giving it a try! It’s easier than you think… just keep stirring and everything will be FINE.

This caramel apple bread pudding is made even better by topping it with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream and an extra drizzle of caramel. It’s all your fall dreams come true!

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

• 5-6 cups day-old bread (cut into small pieces)
• 4 eggs (beaten)
• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 5 tsp cinnamon (divided)
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups apples (diced)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

For the Caramel

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup salted butter (softened, cut into 8 tablespoons (1 stick))
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp salt (if desired)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 7 x 11 in baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together 4 eggs, 1 cup apple cider, 2 cups milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 3 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp nutmeg. Dump your dry bread chunks into the mixture, and stir to make sure all the bread is coated. Soak for 15 minutes.
3. While the bread is soaking, chop up your apples. Dice the apples into 1/2 inch cubes. Transfer the apple chunks to a bowl, and toss with 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp of cinnamon, and a sprinkle of nutmeg, if you want.
4. Add the apples in with the bread mixture, stir to combine, and then spoon the mixture into your prepared baking dish, leaving some of the liquid behind.
5. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the pudding is set.

For the Caramel

1. While the bread pudding is baking, make the caramel.
2. Heat the 1 cup of granulated sugar in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly with a heat-proof rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The sugar will start to clump up and then melt into a thick amber-colored liquid. Be careful not to burn it.
3. Once the sugar is melted, add the butter in . The caramel will start to bubble rapidly once you add the butter.
4. Stir the butter into the caramel until it is all the way melted. If the butter separates from the caramel, take off the heat and whisk until they come back together. This may take a few minutes, but don’t give up, it will come back together! Just be careful not to splash yourself while mixing. Return the caramel to the heat once it’s combined.
5. Slowly add the 1/2 cup of heavy cream, stirring as you pour it in. The mixture will bubble as you add the cream in. Let the caramel boil for 1 minute.
6. If you want salted caramel, remove from the heat and add in 1 tsp of salt.

Assemble

1. Once the bread pudding is out of the oven, pour your caramel over the top of it. Use as much as you want- I covered the entire top of the bread pudding, but you could do a light drizzle and save the rest for topping your individual slices, or add a scoop of ice cream on top of the bread pudding and drizzle on some caramel.
2. Allow the bread pudding to cool and set before serving. Enjoy!

Dessert

bread, bread pudding, caramel, caramel apple, fall, fall baking, pineapple, pudding