Serves: 6
Apple pudding:
6 Granny Smith apples, cored and coarsely chopped
15ml (1 tbsp) calvados
2.5ml (½ tsp) ground cinnamon
250g stale white bread, crusts removed, roughly torn
250ml (1 cup) milk
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
150g caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
125g ground almonds
4 large eggs, separated
5ml (1 tsp) salt
100g butter, melted, plus extra for brushing
Vanilla custard:
250ml (1 cup) fresh cream
125ml (½ cup) milk
Scraped-out seeds of 1 vanilla pod
3 large egg yolks
50g caster sugar
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- For the pudding, combine the apple, calvados and cinnamon in a large bowl and set aside.
- Place the bread in a large heatproof bowl.
- Place the milk and lemon zest in a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a rapid simmer, then pour over the bread and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, ground almonds, egg yolks and salt. Stir in the butter, then the bread mixture.
- Brush a 2-litre ceramic baking dish with the extra butter, dust with some caster sugar and shake out the excess.
- Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold in the bread mixture and spoon into baking dish.
- Top with the apple mixture and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden and set.
- For the custard, place the cream, milk and vanilla seeds in a saucepan and bring almost to the boil, then remove from heat.
- Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until thick and creamy and slowly add a little of the hot milk mixture, whisking to combine.
- Transfer to the pot with the remaining milk mixture and stir continuously over low heat until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Pour into a bowl placed over ice and stir until chilled.
- Serve the cool custard with hot apple pudding.