Simplicity of Cider Apple Bread Pudding

For the Bread Pudding

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 medium apples – peeled, cored, and cubed
  • 3 teaspoons honey, divided
  • 1 whole clove
  • 6  1/2-inch slices of brioche, french, or other loaf bread, cubed
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 drops vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Spiked Caramel Sauce

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup hard apple cider
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla  extract

“Cinnamon apples and custardy bread pudding melded together with the creamy caramel sauce spiked with cider.”

–The Simplicity of Cider by Amy E. Reichert

BREAD PUDDING DIRECTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Butter a 9x9x2-inch baking dish or a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.
  • In a large bowl, toss apples with 1 tbsp of honey, cinnamon, and ground clove.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together bread, remaining honey, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly.
  • Add apple mixture to the bread mixture and mix slowly.
  • Pour mixture into the prepared dish.
  • Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown on top, 30 to 35 minutes.
  • Serve warm with Spiked Caramel Sauce and vanilla ice cream.

SPIKED CARAMEL SAUCE DIRECTIONS

  • Add butter, brown sugar, apple cider and cinnamon to a medium saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture turns a deep amber color.
  • Carefully stir in cream and vanilla, whisking constantly, cook until sauce thickens and coats back of spoon.
  • Serve over bread pudding.

the Book Inspiration

Focused and unassuming fifth generation cider-maker Sanna Lund has one desire: to live a simple, quiet life on her family’s apple orchard in Door County, Wisconsin. Although her business is struggling, Sanna remains fiercely devoted to the orchard, despite her brother’s attempts to convince their aging father to sell the land.

Single dad Isaac Banks has spent years trying to shield his son, Sebastian, from his troubled mother. Fleeing heartbreak at home, Isaac packed up their lives and the two headed out on an adventure, driving across the country. Chance – or fate – led them straight to Sanna’s orchard.

Isaac’s helping hands are much appreciated at the apple farm, even more when Sanna’s father is injured in an accident. As Sanna’s formerly simple life becomes increasingly complicated, she finds solace in unexpected places – friendship with young Sebastian and something more deliciously complex with Isaac – until an outside threat infiltrates the farm.

From the warm and funny Amy E. Reichert, The Simplicity of Cider is a charming love story with a touch of magic, perfect for fans of Sarah Addison Allen and Gayle Forman.