Preheat oven to 375°F and spray a 9×11″ baking dish with baking spray or butter lightly.

In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups milks, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and 3 eggs. Whisk until well mixed and smooth. Add 1 stick of melted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. Mix to combine.

Add half of the bread cubes to the egg mixture and press down so all the cubes are submerged. Add the other half of the bread cubes, pressing down lightly to moisten.

Turn half of the moistened bread cubes into the baking dish and top with half of the apple slices. Top that with the remaining bread cubes and top with the other half of the apples.

Bake in the preheated oven for about an hour until the bread pudding is nicely browned and slightly crispy on top. When you press lightly in the middle of the bread pudding it should bounce back. You don’t want it too jiggly or wet in the center, so cook it longer as needed. Mine typically takes a good hour to be cooked the way we like it.

Make the maple cream sauce while the bread pudding is cooking. To make the sauce combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 stick butter, 1 cup heavy cream, and a small pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil then reduce the heat to medium and allow the sauce to boil gently for about 5-10 minutes until reduced slightly. Give it a taste and adjust the maple flavor to your liking. Add more salt little by little if needed.

Note: I learned to use hamburger buns in bread pudding from Cowboy Kent Rollins. I enjoyed his Vanilla Bread Pudding with Whiskey Cream Sauce so much, that I only make my bread pudding with hamburger buns now. The texture is perfectly creamy and a bit lighter than other bread pudding I’ve made.

Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook time: 60 mins 
Total time: 70 mins 

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Life Tastes Good hopes to inspire you to eat at home to experience great new flavors while saving time and money too! Once you make cooking a habit, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is and you might even like it!