Apple Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Name: Apple Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 16 servings (1-3/4 cups sauce).
Ingredients: 3/4 cup butter, cubed; 4 cups chopped peeled tart apples (about 4 medium); 2 cups sugar; 1/2 cup raisins; 1/2 cup chopped walnuts; 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; BREAD PUDDING:; 6 large eggs; 2-1/2 cups 2% milk; 1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided; 1 cup heavy whipping cream; 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract; Dash ground nutmeg; 1 loaf (1 pound) French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes; CARAMEL SAUCE:; 1 cup sugar; 1/4 cup water; 1 cup heavy whipping cream; 2 tablespoons butter

This apple bread pudding with caramel sauce has been in my life for a long time. It's a family fave and always on my buffet when I put together a brunch. It's also special enough for dinner dessert. —Cleo Gonske, Redding, California

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, cubed
4 cups chopped peeled tart apples (about 4 medium)
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
BREAD PUDDING:
6 large eggs
2-1/2 cups 2% milk
1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dash ground nutmeg
1 loaf (1 pound) French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
CARAMEL SAUCE:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add apples, sugar, raisins, walnuts and cinnamon; bring just to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until apples are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
For bread pudding, in a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, 1-1/2 cups sugar, cream, vanilla and nutmeg until blended. Stir in bread cubes and apple mixture. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake, uncovered, 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
For caramel sauce, in a small heavy saucepan, combine sugar and water; stir gently to moisten all the sugar. Cook over medium-low heat, gently swirling pan occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Cover; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook 1 minute.
Uncover pan; continue to boil until syrup turns a medium amber color. Immediately remove from heat and carefully stir in cream and butter. Serve with warm bread pudding.

Nutrition Facts

1 serving: 606 calories, 27g fat (15g saturated fat), 149mg cholesterol, 312mg sodium, 87g carbohydrate (68g sugars, 2g fiber), 8g protein.

Originally published as Caramel Apple Bread Pudding in Taste of Home September/October 2013

Reviews

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Average Rating:

kellsbells1

Jan 29, 2015

I substituted 1 cup pecans for the raisins and walnuts. And used frozen apples from my tree. amazing!
Meb3

Feb 5, 2014

I was so disappointed in this bread pudding. It is so sweet, way too much sugar. I should have known better. Now I have a whole dish of bread pudding that we can't eat.
Angel_Food

Nov 30, 2013

"Your bread pudding is to die for!"...."This is the best bread pudding I've ever had" are just 2 of the compliments I received after fixing this for our Thanksgiving buffet. I've been asked to bring this to our Christmas Eve buffet as well! The caramel sauce seemed more like a vanilla flavor than caramel but it was still delicious. This one goes in my keeper file. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
terrilu50

Nov 21, 2013

So good! Will definitely make this again! Didn't have any raisins so I left them out but it was still so yummy!
ReneeMurby

Oct 26, 2013

Delicious. I will definitely make this again and again. I did substitute the raisins for dried cherries because that is what I had on hand and I also used Splenda Blend instead of regular white sugar. I also made the caramel sauce with Splenda Brown Sugar Blend since my Dad and two sisters are diabetics.
becky66

Oct 20, 2013

I thought this bread pudding was outstanding, and I am not typically a big fan of bread pudding. I brought it when I worked Bingo at church, where we sell sandwiches and desserts to the players. Everyone who tried it raved about it. The addition of the apples and the caramel topping were delicious. I gave the recipe four stars, however, because I also had difficulty with the sugar crystallizing when I added the butter and cream. I had questioned whether they should be added without warming them first, and next time I would melt the butter, mix the in the cream, and warm it before adding it to the sugar-water mixture. I was able to rescue the sauce by keeping the sauce on low heat and stirring occasionally, and most of the crystallized ball of sugar melted into the mixture, and the caramel sauce got thicker and richer.
Kools01

Oct 20, 2013

This was the worst caramel sauce recipe I ever made. It doesn't work. Color never turned amber and the sugar dried up and crystallized. I made my own caramel sauce from another dessert recipe I have. Also way too much sugar in this recipe and it isn't necessary. 4 cups, really? I only used 1 cup with the apples, 1 cup with the egg/milk mixture and didn't sprinkle any on top. The bread pudding itself was okay.
CatMurphy

Oct 14, 2013

I like the addition of the apples and carmel sauce to this bread pudding recipe. It's delicious! If you haven't made caramel sauce before I'd suggest using quality store-bought because the process can go wrong quickly, but you can't beat the flavor of homemade caramel.
Polly-Lisa

Sep 10, 2013

caramelization came too fast- what did I do wrong!!!
Polly-Lisa

Sep 10, 2013

third, fourth, and fifth time I made recipe it caramelized before