Now that we’ve all been trying to stay safe by staying home, social media is inundated by a flurry of aspiring home chefs. All the better for us beginners, who have now stepped out of our comfort zones and attempted cooking and baking simple recipes, and are eagerly anticipating the fruits of our labour.
Speaking of fruits, it’s the right season to be getting more vitamins and nutrients into our meals, so why not make a dessert that’s just as healthy? We all know how healthy apples are, given their prebiotic effects and promotion of good gut health.
In the same vein, blueberries are packed with nutrients ideal for maintaining bone health, managing diabetes, and lowering blood pressure.
For the freshest of fruits, you can always rely on the fresh food people, Cold Storage—your one-stop-shop for all your produce needs. Their NZ Royal Gala apples have a crisp and fine-textured flesh that is great for baking as they retain subtle hardiness for a textural crunch.
As for their Moroccan blueberries, they’re prized for their rich taste, so you’ll know that your recipes will always turn out flavourful.
If you’ve been following our Simple Stay-home Recipes series, you’ll know that we love to make things that are simple and delicious, so no one gets left behind. This time around, we have a quick Apple & Blueberry Bread & Butter Pudding that only takes 15 minutes to prepare, before letting the oven handle the rest!
Ingredients
- 4 large NZ Royal Gala apples, sliced into slim wedges (peeled or unpeeled, to your preference)
- A handful of Moroccan blueberries
- 100g butter
- 100g brown or raw sugar
- 250ml double or heavy cream
- 250ml milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 7 – 8 slices of bread (any type you prefer)
Tools
- 40cm baking tray or smaller, with at least 3cm depth
- Chopping board
- Knife
- Whisk
- Pan
- Mixing bowl
- Oven
Recipe Preparation
Preparation time: 15 minutes; Cooking time: 1 hour
Feeds six
- Pre-heat the oven to 220°C.
- Wash the apples and slice them into slim wedges, opting to peel them if you wish. Wash the blueberries as well.
- Melt the brown or raw sugar with the butter in a pan over low heat.
- Add the apple slices in batches and cook them till they are tender and soft. Remove the cooked apple slices from the pan and set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk the double cream, milk, 3 eggs, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence.
- Grease the baking tray with butter. Start building the bread & butter pudding by tearing the bread into irregular pieces and laying them down first to create the base of the pudding.
- Next, place a layer of apples and blueberries, followed by another layer of bread. Top the pudding with the remaining apple slices and blueberries.
- Finally, pour the milk mixture all over the pudding as evenly as possible, ensuring that every corner is well-soaked.
- Leave the pudding to stand for about 5 minutes, allowing the bread to soak in the milk mixture.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 120°C. Place the tray of pudding in the oven and let it bake for 60 minutes until the bread edges are browned and crisp, as are the apple slices, and the blueberries are slightly shrivelled. It’s okay if there’s still some milk mixture in the tray; the pudding is meant to be moist.
- Enjoy it while it’s still warm!
Recipe Preparation (In Pictures)
Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to about 220°C.
Step 2: Wash the apples and slice them into slim wedges, opting to peel them if you wish. Cut enough slices of white bread into triangles; sufficient to create two layers in the pudding (I used 6 slices). Wash the blueberries as well.
Step 3: Melt the brown or raw sugar together with the butter in a pan, over low heat. Add the apple slices in batches and cook them till they are tender and soft. Remove the cooked apple slices from the pan and set aside.
Step 4: Whisk the 250ml of double cream, 250ml of milk, 3 eggs, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence.
Step 5: Grease the baking tray with a thin layer of butter. Start building the bread & butter pudding by laying the first layer of bread down to create the base of the pudding.
Step 6: Next, place a layer of apples and blueberries, followed by another layer of bread pieces. Top the pudding with the remaining apple slices and blueberries.
Step 7: Finally, pour the milk mixture all over the pudding as evenly as possible, ensuring that every corner is soaked. Leave the pudding to stand for about 5 minutes, allowing the bread to soak in the milk mixture. You may gently press down the bread to facilitate this.
Step 8: Reduce the oven temperature to 120°C. Place the tray of pudding in the oven and let it bake for 60 minutes until the bread edges are browned and crisp, as are the apple slices, and the blueberries are slightly shrivelled. It’s okay if there’s still some milk mixture in the tray; the pudding is meant to be moist.
Step 9: Enjoy it while it’s still warm!
As the pudding was baking, I thoroughly relished in the aroma that was wafting throughout the house, and I couldn’t wait to dig into it. The Apple & Blueberry Bread & Butter Pudding turned out perfectly—with satisfyingly crispy edges and a moist underlayer.
Even with only a teaspoon of vanilla extract, its flavour came through beautifully. However, the icing on the cake was the apples and the blueberries, with their enhanced sweetness and addition of crunch to the pillowy pudding.
With only 15 minutes of prep to worry about, this bread & butter recipe can easily be your next go-to creation when you’re craving something sweet, but not too tedious. It will certainly be a recipe I’m bookmarking from now on!
Expected Damage: S$22 – S$25 per portion
*This post is brought to you in partnership with Cold Storage.
