Better Than Restaurant Bread Pudding

When I was a teenager I went to work for my Aunt "K" at her restaurant. On one of the slower days she wanted me to make the bread pudding for the dessert menu in the evening. I will never forget how wonderful the caramel sauce smelled while it was cooking! It was super easy, but oh so rewarding. She treated me to my creation when it came out of the oven and gave me a small piece while I went on break. The taste was excellent. A few years later she gave me the recipe which I thought I had lost forever but happily stumbled upon it a few weeks ago and made some to take to work. It was gone in 3 minutes flat, so I thought I would store this treasure here so that I will not lose it again, ENJOY!

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• Caramel Sauce

• 1⁄8 cup dark brown sugar
• 1⁄4 cup water
• 4  tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1  tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1  cup  cream

• Fruit

• 1  cup  dried apricot (See note)
• 1 1⁄2 cups water
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1  loaf  French bread
• 6  large eggs
• 1⁄4 cup flour
• 1⁄3 cup sugar
• 1  quart  whipping cream
• 1  medium  size tart apple (optional)

Directions

1. Carmel Sauce:
2. Combine the sugar and water in a heavy bottomed sauce pan that holds at least 2 1/2 quarts.Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves, then raise the heat to medium and bring to a boil.Let the mixture boil until it begins to smoke and thicken. It will rise up in the pan, become very foamy and start emitting puffs of smoke.Drop in the butter and stir until it dissolves.Stir in the cream.Return to a boil, then turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Cool to lukewarm.
3. Fruit:
4. Use 1 cup of chopped dried apricots. Place in a heavy saucepan and cover with water and add sugar. Stir, bring to a boil and continue to simmer for about 20 minutes or until the apricots are soft. (NOTE: You can use the dried fruit of choice but this is what we use. Also instead of the fresh apple, you can sub for half a cup of dehydrated apples, but not the crunchy type. You would want the soft chewy type, I believe they're called apple rings. I like using those better because they don't turn brown while you're chopping them. You would then add this type of apple to your apricot/sugar-water mixture.).
5. Bread & Custard:
6. Preheat oven to 375°F Trim the crust off the french bread and cut into 1/2 inch slices and set aside. (truthfully, you don't have to trim the crust off, as long as you soak the break with the custard really well. It will be nice and soft and it does not effect the flavor at all.) Beat the eggs, flour, sugar for about 1 minute at medium speed. Add the cream and mix just enough to combine. Peel, quarter, core and grate the apple. Arrange the bread slices to cover the bottom of a 2 1/2 quart souffle dish. Do not overlap them, but at the same time try not to leave any spaces.Pour 1/3 of the custard over the bread making sure it is well soaked. Scatter the grated apple and apricot pieces over the bread, then drizzle caramel sauce over that.Repeat the bread, custard, apple, and apricot layering and end with the bread slices, custard over that and caramel on top. Bake 30 - 50 minutes until custard is set.
7. *Note* Reserve any extra caramel sauce that you may have for later when you want to reheat your bread pudding -- if it makes it that far! If I have it i tend to garnish my bread pudding with chopped walnuts.