Smoked Cheddar and Apple Danish Pudding

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So I hate to toss away stale bread products and luckily I am a huge fan of bread puddings – so recipe was as a result of seeing what I had handy

I recently started using an app called TooGoodToGo as a way to see what kinds of food and perishables are available from local vendors as a reduced cost. This saves them from tossing out perfectly good merch and it saves me some money too! Danish and baked goods are a popular item and a a result I have some assorted danish and croissants that I wasn’t able to eat at its freshest. So what came to mind was, “lets turn it into a “bread pudding”.

I rummaged around and saw I had granny smith apples and some smoked cheddar cheese from Stoltzfus Meats out of PA. I had the opportunity to try some of the product they produce in a few recent recipes including Bacon, Onion, Cheese, and Walnut Bisquick Muffins and a Smoked Hog inspired Muffaletta and had been saving the last piece of cheese for something special.

Now before you say “no way” – remember for New Englanders eating pieces of cheddar cheese with Apples slices or on a piece of warm Apple Pie is cultural. So I figured what the hell. I also made a yummy caramel drizzle to use as a side sauce with some of the Celtic Sea Salt Caramels from Bequet that my pal Christine (Tiktoks @OctoberDragonfly)

 

My Day Old Danish, Smoked Cheddar & Apple Pudding

You can start with this Basic Bread Pudding Base; good on it own and very adaptable to any additions

  • 1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) milk (or heavy cream)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 6 cups day old danish, cut into 1″ cubes
  • 5 tbsp light brown sugar (depending on how sweet you want this)
  • 2-3 tsp Ground Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie spice Mix ( to your taste)
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • Butter or cooking spray for greasing pan

This amount makes for a perfect Loaf pan or regular pie tin. For a deep dish pie pan- double the recipe and pile it high before backing!

For Smoked Cheddar & Apple Danish Pudding variation you will need:

  • 1 cup small diced Stoltzfus Smoked Cheddar Cheese
  • 1 large granny smith apple diced in10 1″ pieces (washed but you can peal or not up to you)
  • 2 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • Pinch of salt

Making it

  1. Up to 1 hour before (or overnight), vigorously whisk together the milk, eggs, 1-2 tbsp of the brown sugar, vanilla and seasonings in a medium bowl.
  2. Put the cubed bread pieces into a large bowl and pour the liquid mixture over the bread pieces, stirring to combine and gently pressing to help absorb the liquid base.
  3. Let sit for at least 60 minutes, or overnight to soak up liquid.
  4. Cover and refrigerate

Baking Time!

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Take the soaked danish out
  3. Peel and chop the apples.
  4. Sauté the apples in a skillet; with remaining brown sugar,  butter and a pinch of salt until soft
  5. Remove from the heat
  6. Add the diced cheese to the cubed mix incorporate
  7. Using a slotted spoon, add the cooled fruit into the soaked danish, reserving the liquid in the pan and gently mix well .
  8. Grease/butter a pie plate or casserole dish and pour mixture into it. Pile it high.
  9. Drizzle the reserved sugar and apple glaze from the saute pan over the pudding.
  10. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon
  11. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour on middle rack until the pudding begins to pull away from the sides and has raised some. You want it to have a nice golden-brown top.
  12. Check for doneness (should not be any liquid when a knife inserted and pulled apart)
  13. Let cool 15-30 minutes before serving

The addition of the cheddar makes this a version a more New England inspired taste and can work as an unusual side dish dressing with roasted meats or add the caramel sauce, or top with a scoop of ice cream as a warm sweet treat.

You can substitute apple pie filling for fresh apples.