Danish Applesauce Breadcrumb Pudding

justcallmetoni's Note:

This is an interesting variation on bread pudding I found on the internet. You can used store bought chunky applesauce instead of making your own.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons apple juice
• 12 slices French bread (about 2 1/2 cups) or 12 slices Italian bread , ground fine in a food processor (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1 cup lingonberry preserves or 1 cup raspberry preserves
• 1 cup whipped cream (optional)
• cooking spray

For applesauce

• 3 lbs mcintosh apples (about 8 large) or 3 lbs rome apples (about 8 large)
• 2⁄3; cup water
• 1⁄3; cup sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. To make applesauce: Peel and core apples and cut into 1 inch. In a large saucepan bring water, apples, and sugar to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until apples are soft and starting to fall apart, about 25 minutes. Don't cook or mash the sauce until smooth. Applesauce may be made 3 days in advance and kept chilled until you are ready to make the pudding.
3. In a large heavy skillet melt butter over moderate heat. Once melted, stir in apple juice and bread crumbs. Stir bread crumbs continuously until they are well toasted and golden in color, about 5 minutes.
4. Lightly spritz a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Place 1 cup of bread crumbs in the bottom, top with 2 cups of applesauce, followed by 1/2 cup of preserves. Repeat layers, finishing with the remaining 1/2 cup of crumbs. Bake pudding 25 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
5. Serve pudding warm with optional garnish of whipped cream and additional preserves.

Reviews

[tornadoes three]

This is a fantastic summer dessert! I let my 10 year old help me with this recipe and she found the instructions to be very easy to follow. This is a definite keeper. Thanks Toni!

[~Nimz~]

Very nice pudding. I was expecting more of a crunch from the breadcrumbs, but it really didn't matter because the flavor was very good. I would have liked a firmer texture to this. I used a zip-lock bag with a hole cut on one side to distribute and spread the raspberry preserves over the applesauce, which was store bought. Thanks Toni.