Cinnamon Apple Raisin Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is one of those things that I didn’t care for as a kid but love now, especially served warm with vanilla ice cream. As much as I love it I’ve never made it myself. This week I had a few pieces of raisin bread  that were going stale and my last apple was getting brown spots. Since I had Cabin Fever and didn’t want my food to go to waste, I decided to make a bread pudding before they went bad. There are so many people here in NYC without food  or shelter right now due to the storm that the last thing I want to do is waste food, not even a little bit!

Hurricane Sandy really wreaked havoc on NYC, New Jersey and other states on the East Coast. I personally did not experience any flooding or damage in my apartment. I was merely inconvenienced by the trains being out and couldn’t get to work this week, I’ve actually been in the house since last Saturday and don’t plan to go out until Monday. However, seeing the images and reporting on the news of the devastation that this storm has caused to my fellow New Yorkers, it hurts my heart. Some people are now homeless and all they have are the clothes on their back.   Many are just getting power back and all their food has spoiled. Lots of  lives have been lost including children. It is very saddening. I know with time things will get better but right now help is needed. If you live in any of the areas affected by Sandy and have extra clothing or food laying around, please donate. If you can donate time with the clean up efforts, that will work too. If you have it to give a monetary donation you can do this as well, just text “REDCROSS” to 90-999 and $10 will be added to your phone bill to help with the relief efforts. Every bit of help counts and all help is appreciated. On a brighter note, my bread pudding turned out deelish!

What you will need…

4 slices of raisin bread, cubed

2 eggs

1  1/3 cup 2 % milk

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

6 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp salt

1 medium Macintosh or Granny Smith Apple, cubed

Preparation…

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray pie pan with non stick cooking spray. In a large bowl mix the milk, eggs, butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in the apples, then add the bread and let sit for 5 minutes. Pour mixture into pie pan, sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. I didn’t have ice cream in the house so I used the latter…

Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings, 292 calories per serving