RECIPE | Reuben Riffel's baked apple pudding with vanilla custard

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:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. For the pudding, combine the apple, calvados and cinnamon in a large bowl and set aside.
3. Place the bread in a large heatproof bowl.
4. 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.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, ground almonds, egg yolks and salt. Stir in the butter, then the bread mixture.
6. Brush a 2-litre ceramic baking dish with the extra butter, dust with some caster sugar and shake out the excess.
7. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold in the bread mixture and spoon into baking dish.
8. Top with the apple mixture and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden and set.
9. For the custard, place the cream, milk and vanilla seeds in a saucepan and bring almost to the boil, then remove from heat.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. Pour into a bowl placed over ice and stir until chilled.
13. Serve the cool custard with hot apple pudding.