Stale Bread Splendor

So raise your hand if this sounds familiar: It's Yuntif season....you may even have three-day yuntifs back-to-back for about a month solid (ring any bells?) and you're hosting meal after meal where you need to make Motzi over two challahs. You have a nice sized crowd, so you get through an entire challah and then, inevitably, someone wants another slice, so you cut into challah #2 and then....you have to make Motzi on two new challahs the next meal. And it happens again. And you're left with seven 3/4-challahs in your freezer or on your counter. What are you supposed to do with them?

Here's the answer....Cinnamon Apple Streusel Bread Pudding. It's rich, it's warm, it's sweet, it's so good. My roommate told me that it smelled like Rosh Hashana when I was preparing it, and it does! It's a cross between Rosh Hashana and the fall season when you get to break out your cool weather clothing and boots and buy new fall/winter clothes....unless it's 90 degrees where you live at Rosh Hashana! But around this holiday, I at least hope that the cool weather is coming! But I digress....

I love bread pudding. I love cinnamon and warm desserts and gooey caramely sauces, so anything that brings all those flavors together is a winner in my book. This is a great "use up" dish for all those challah ends. Or just buy a big challah, cut it up the night before, and let it go stale....that's right. Stale bread is better! (In a pinch, cut the challah up into chunks, pop it in a 250 degree oven for 15 minutes and let it dry out in there....works just as well!). The streusel topping that I decided on at the last minute created this awesome caramel on top that made it apple pie-like. I also made a cinnamon vanilla sauce to serve with it. After researching dozens of sauces online, I combined a few to make the one I ended up with. It does include one egg. I know that there are health and salmonella warnings recently with raw eggs, but this sauce is cooked for several minutes on the stove, so you'll be good to go. Don't want to potchka with the sauce? Whip up some pareve whipped cream and add a little cinnamon...delish!

In the end, I actually served the bread pudding with both  the sauce and the cinnamon whipped cream. The sauce is extremely sweet and a little goes a long way. The cinnamon whipped cream actually cut through the sugar-y sweetness of the sauce and was a great accompaniment.

I feel like this will be a great dish to serve on Sukkos, when you're sitting outside late at night, the weather is just getting chilly and you need your sweater for the first time all season....ah, can you tell what time of the year I like best?? :-)

Cinnamon Apple Streusel Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Vanilla Sauce
1 large stale challah, crusts removed, cut into 1 inch cubes (about 8 cups)
8 tbsp. (1 stick) margarine, divided
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 cup raisins
3 3/4 cups soy milk
2 1/2 cups brown sugar, divided
4 eggs
1/2 tsbp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
2/3 cup flour
1 recipe Cinnamon Vanilla Sauce (recipe to follow)

1. Place challah cubes in a large bowl.
2. In a skillet, melt 4 tsbp. margarine. Add apples and raisins and cook over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
3. While the apples cook, whisk together the soy milk, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, eggs, and spices. Pour over the challah and push the challah down with a large spoon or your hands, allowing the custard mixture to soak the bread. Allow the bread to absorb the mixture for 5-10 minutes.
4. When the apples and raisins have cooled slightly, add them to the bread mixture and incorporate. Pour the bread pudding into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
5. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 4 tbsp. margarine, remaining 1 cup brown sugar and flour. Using your hands, mix until it is crumbly. Sprinkle this streusel topping on top of the bread pudding.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until the top is browned, the liquid has absorbed, and the pudding is set. Serve warm with Cinnamon Vanilla Sauce.

Cinnamon Vanilla Sauce
1 cup granulated sugar
1 stick margarine
1 egg
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon

In a small saucepan, melt together the sugar, margarine and egg. Whisk constantly for 8 minutes on medium high heat, until sauce thickens slightly. (Note: You must whisk this constantly, otherwise the egg will congeal and you will end up with a Scrambled Egg Sauce....not so yummy!) Add the soy milk. (Note: Most soy milk containers have four cups of milk in them. Use 3 3/4 cups for the bread pudding and save the last 1/4 cup for the sauce...perfect!) Remove from heat and add vanilla and cinnamon; whisk. Serve at room temperature with warm bread pudding.