Apple Bread Pudding With Calvados Sauce
Recipe: https://recipestripper.com/recipes/86ff8527-b741-4651-9697-4d55b86083c6
Original source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1880-apple-bread-pudding-with-calvados-sauce
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Total time: PT1H30M

Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced ½ inch thick
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup Calvados
- 3 ½ cups torn baguette in ½-inch pieces
- 2 cups half-and-half
- ½ vanilla bean, split
- 3 eggs, beaten
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups fresh cider
- 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions
1. Butter a 6-to-8-cup soufflé dish or other baking dish. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples, and sauté about 5 minutes, until apples start to brown. Add 3 tablespoons sugar. Sauté a minute or two, until sugar caramelizes. Transfer to a bowl. Add half the Calvados.
3. Melt remaining butter in pan over low heat. Add bread, and toss a few minutes to coat with butter. Spoon half the apples into the baking dish, and top with half the bread. Repeat.
4. Place half-and-half and vanilla bean in a saucepan. Scald. Stir in ½ cup sugar. Remove from heat. Whisk a little of this mixture into eggs; then slowly whisk eggs into half-and-half. Strain into baking dish, and dust with nutmeg. Place dish on a kitchen towel in a roasting pan. Add simmering water to come halfway up sides. Bake 40 minutes, until just set.
5. Meanwhile, boil cider until reduced by half. Sift remaining sugar with cornstarch; whisk into cider. Simmer until thick. Add remaining Calvados. Serve warm on pudding.