Got milk, eggs, bread? Make Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

The snow's still on the ground in much of the country, and I'm betting that substantial supplies of the eggs, milk and bread that we all stocked up on are still in many kitchens.

Why not make bread pudding?

My version is sweetened with a layer of caramelized apples. You can use whatever variety of apple you might have on hand. I mixed together a Granny Smith, which retained its texture as it cooked, and a Golden Delicious, which softened into applesauce.

Just about any type of bread would work, too. I had an abundance of small dinner rolls, so I used those. Other options include French bread, cinnamon bread and sandwich bread.

Whole milk will make the richest dessert, but 2 percent would work too. If you only have nonfat milk on hand, you might want to add a tablespoon of melted butter when you whisk together the milk and eggs. (That's what I did.)

I baked the puddings in 8-ounce ramekins. For smaller servings, use 4- or 6-ounce custard cups and reduce the baking time as necessary.

APPLE CARAMEL BREAD PUDDING
Yield: 2 generous servings (see note)

3 loosely packed cups bread cubes (cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
7 tablespoons light brown sugar, divided
1 tablespoon butter, divided
2 apples, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
Whipped cream, for optional garnish

Place bread cubes in a medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk together milk, vanilla, whole egg, egg yolk, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 3 tablespoons brown sugar. Pour over bread; toss to combine completely. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, melt 1/2 tablespoon butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples and cook, stirring frequently, until they soften and begin to brown. Stir in the remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 4 tablespoons brown sugar. Cook, stirring, until the sugar melts and glazes the apples. Set aside to cool completely.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-ounce ramekins. Stir the bread mixture, then spoon about one-fourth of the mixture into each ramekin. Spoon about one-fourth of the apple mixture over the bread mixture in each ramekin, spreading the apples to make a thin layer. Top with the remaining bread mixture. Set the remaining apples aside to use as a garnish.

Place an 8-inch-square or larger baking dish on the middle oven shelf. Place the ramekins into the baking dish. Pour hot water into the baking dish until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. (The water bath assures that the puddings will  bake evenly.)

Bake until the top of each pudding is golden brown and has puffed slightly and a knife inserted into the center comes out almost clean, about 45 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature, then top with the remaining caramelized apples. If desired, garnish with whipped cream.

Note: This recipe can be doubled or tripled. If making larger amounts, use a 9-by-13-inch pan or a roasting pan for the water bath.

Copyright 2013 by Judith Evans. All rights reserved.

Sour Cream Cherry Pie: creamy, crunchy, deliciously different

Valentine's Day, President's Day, George Washington's birthday -- no matter the holiday, if it's February, you won't go wrong with a cherry pie.

This version is deliciously different. The filling has a lot in common with cheesecake, although this recipe is made with sour cream instead of cream cheese. Cherries are suspended throughout the sweet, creamy filling, and a crunchy, nutty streusel tops everything off. You'll get a variety of flavors and textures in every bite.

CHERRY SOUR CREAM PIE

Yield: 8 servings

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell 

For filling:
1 cup light sour cream

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 (24-ounce) jar pitted sweet cherries in light syrup, drained, or about 3 cups fresh or frozen pitted sweet cherries

For topping:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate; flute the edges. 

Prepare filling: Combine sour cream, 2 tablespoons flour, 3/4 cup sugar, almond extract, salt and egg in mixing bowl. Stir until smooth. Gently stir in cherries. Spoon filling into pastry shell; smooth top with spatula. Bake on center oven shelf for 25 minutes, covering the edges with foil or a pie shield if needed to prevent overbrowning.

Prepare topping: Stir together 1/4 cup flour and 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl. Add butter. Using a fork, two table knives, a pastry blender or your hands, mix until small crumbs form. Stir in almonds. 

Sprinkle almond mixture evenly over top of partially baked pie. Return to the oven; bake until topping is lightly browned, about 15 minutes. 

Let pie cool to room temperature. Pie can be kept at cool room temperature 4 to 5 hours, or it can be chilled.

Adapted from a recipe for blueberry pie by cookbook author Betty Rosbottom.

Apple upside-down gingerbread cakes are a tiny treat

I love Honeycrisp apples, but they're usually the priciest apple in the supermarket. As good as they are, I'm rarely willing to spend $2 or $3 on a single apple.

That's why, when I saw boxes of six medium Honeycrisp going for $1, I grabbed two. Twelve Honeycrisp apples for a total of $2 -- I felt like I'd hit the apple jackpot.

I'd been thinking about making mini apple upside-down cakes, so I got out the flour, sugar and other ingredients and came up with this recipe. The slightly spicy batter is flavored with ground and crystallized ginger plus cinnamon, while honey and brown sugar contribute sweetness along with their distinctive flavors. Most apple cakes are made with vegetable oil instead of butter, and this is no exception, but I used a little butter in the bottom of each muffin cup for flavor and to prevent sticking.

And speaking of preventing sticking, use the same measuring cup for the oil and then the honey. The honey will slide right out.

And if you don't have a cache of Honeycrisps, another favorite variety such as Granny Smith, Jonathan, Fuji or Gala will do.

MINI APPLE-GINGERBREAD UPSIDE-DOWN CAKES
Yield: 12 cakes

Nonstick cooking spray
About 1 tablespoon butter or ghee (clarified butter), melted
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1 large or 2 small apples, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
6 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray. Brush about 1/4 teaspoon melted butter in the bottom of each cup. Sprinkle each cup evenly with 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar. Arrange an apple slice (whole or cut into pieces) and some pecans in each muffin cup. Set aside.

Coarsely chop the remaining apple slices. Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and oil. Add egg; stir until well blended. Stir in honey and vanilla.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ground ginger. Add to wet ingredients; stir just until combined. Stir chopped apples and crystallized ginger into the batter.

Pour 3 tablespoons batter into each muffin cup. Do not overfill -- the cooked cakes should just reach the top of the cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Let cool on a wire rack for 2 minutes, then run a thin knife around each cake. Invert the cakes onto a large plate, platter or cutting board; lift off the pan. Using a spatula, transfer the cakes to the wire rack and let cool completely.

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Apple crumble: easy, adaptable, delicious

My favorite parts of Dutch apple pie are the spiced filling and the sweet streusel topping. Why, then, bother with the bottom crust? This recipe ditches the pastry, saving prep time and calories.

Like most fruit desserts, you can vary this crumble according to the season and what you have in your kitchen -- or in your garden, if you're lucky enough to have a fruit tree or berry bushes.

You can use a combination of fruits, too. For example, add a handful of fresh cranberries to the apples, or replace a few of the apples with pears.

For a nutty topping, add chopped pecans or walnuts to the flour mixture. To make an oat topping, use half a cup of flour along with half a cup of rolled oats.

So many types of apples are in supermarkets that I sometimes have trouble remembering which are good baking apples, which are good eating apples and which are good for both. Fortunately, the New York Apple Association offers a free iPhone and iPad app called Them Apples. There's a web-based chart, too, at www.nyapplecountry.com.

APPLE CRUMBLE
Yield: 8 servings

8 to 10 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup white whole-wheat or all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 dash salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
Vanilla ice cream or heavy cream, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 11-cup baking dish or coat with nonstick spray. Place apples and lemon juice in baking dish; toss to combine. Stir together granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle evenly over apples, then stir to combine.

Stir together flour, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Cut butter into chunks and add to the bowl. Using a large fork, a pastry blender or your fingers, cut butter into flour mixture until medium crumbs form. Sprinkle evenly over the apples.

Bake on the middle oven rack until the mixture is bubbly and the apples are tender, about 40 minutes. If the top begins to brown before the apples are tender, cover loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil.

Let cool slightly, then spoon into bowls and serve plain or with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of heavy cream.