• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Another old-fashioned comfort dessert, the Apple Brown Betty is like a cobbler, crisp, and bread pudding all rolled into one. It contains fruit and bread like a bread pudding and a crispy topping like a crisp. However, in this chapter’s recipe, the bread is in the form of toasted breadcrumbs, both in the fruit filling and the spicy topping.

Apple Cider Bread Pudding

Made with fresh apples, apple cider, pure maple syrup, and your favorite bread, this bread pudding will knock your socks off. Go ahead: close your eyes and think of fall foliage in Vermont.

Yield:

1 (9×9-inch) pan

Prep time:

55 to 60 minutes

Bake time:

50 to 60 minutes

Serving size:

1 portion

½ loaf (about 6 cups, packed)

Cinnamon Raisin Bread, Whole-

Wheat Bread, or Basic White

Bread (recipes in Chapter 7)

1½ cups soy, rice, or almond milk

Ener-G Egg Replacer for 2 large

eggs

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

½ cup pure maple syrup

⅓ cup apple cider, or thawed or

frozen apple juice concentrate,

not diluted

2½ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup (about 1 large) Cortland,

Granny Smith, Empire,

Gravenstein, or other hard crisp

apple, peeled, cored, and finely

chopped

¼ cup seedless raisins (optional)

¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Lightly coat a 9×9-inch baking dish with cooking oil spray.

2. Into a large bowl, break Cinnamon Raisin Bread into 1½-inch cubes.

3. In a separate large bowl, combine soy milk, egg substitute, vanilla extract, maple syrup, apple cider, and ground cinnamon. Add chopped apple, raisins (if using), and walnuts (if using). Pour mixture over bread, and gently fold in, coating evenly.

4. Pour bread pudding into the prepared baking dish. Place a layer of plastic wrap over the top, and press down. Let sit for 30 minutes for bread to absorb liquid.

5. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

6. Carefully place the baking dish in a larger and deeper dish, and fill the larger dish half full of hot water. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until pudding is set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.

BATTER UP!

If you can’t get your hands on fresh apple cider, unsweetened apple juice concentrate is a good substitute. It has a natural sweetness and adds the apple flavor necessary in this recipe. Do not dilute it though. Use it straight from the can, frozen or thawed.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

This sinfully rich bread pudding is made with homemade bread, real vanilla bean, and a touch of cinnamon; soaked in a vegan chocolate custard; and baked until perfectly delicious.

Yield:

1 (9×9-inch) pan

Prep time:

80 to 90 minutes

Bake time:

40 to 50 minutes

Serving size:

1 portion

2 cups soy milk

½ vanilla bean, split down the

middle and opened

1 (4-in.) cinnamon stick, food grade

(optional)

½ loaf (about 6 cups, packed) Basic

White Bread (recipe in Chapter 7),

sliced

¾ cup vegan semisweet chocolate

chips

½ cup soft silken tofu

⅓ cup unbleached cane sugar

1 tsp. arrowroot powder

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

¼ cup vegan confectioners’ sugar

(optional)

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring soy milk and vanilla bean to a scald. Turn heat off, add cinnamon stick (if using), and set aside to cool for 30 minutes.

2. Remove vanilla bean from the pan, open pod, and scrape out seeds, returning them to soy milk. Discard pod and cinnamon stick.

3. Lightly coat a 9×9-inch baking dish with cooking oil spray.

4. Layer Basic White Bread slices in the prepared baking dish.

5. Reheat soy milk almost to a scald. Add vegan chocolate chips, and whisk until smooth and chocolate chips are melted. Let cool for 15 minutes.

6. In a blender, add soft silken tofu, unbleached cane sugar, and arrowroot powder, and blend on high speed for 2 or 3 minutes or until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed with a rubber spatula.

7. With the blender on low, slowly add chocolate mixture and vanilla extract,