Apple Pudding

Well Used

You can probably tell by the state of the above recipe card that this dessert was beloved. I had vague memories of it, enough that I felt free to tweak a couple of things according to the tastes of my family members. I did not, however, remember the "dip" that goes with it. I couldn't recall watching Grandma or my mother caramelize sugar and turn it into a sauce. That tricky process is one I've tried since leaving home, and it seemed like one I would have remembered watching. So, did they make this sauce? I wasn't sure, but I was curious to try it for myself.  

How to Make Apple Pudding 

I started with the sauce for a couple of reasons. First, because I was intrigued, and second, because I wanted to leave myself plenty of time for messing up and starting over. I've learned through sad experience that making caramel sauce isn't as easy as some people say it is. Because of that sad experience, I did know how it should be done, which was fortunate because the recipe card contained no instructions. A simple list of ingredients was all I got. 

I began by putting 1/2 cup of sugar into a saucepan over medium heat. 

After several minutes, I began to see signs of the sugar melting. 

I grabbed a whisk and began to stir the sugar. After a few more minutes, it started to clump together.  

I kept stirring, and, eventually, the sugar melted and took on a caramel color. 

Once the clumps of sugar had completely melted and the liquid had darkened to an amber color, I added the butter. 

It bubbled and the mixture thickened, but I persisted in stirring. I then began adding the cream, little by little. 

For a while, a clump of hard caramel attached itself to the whisk, but I kept at it, stirring until the clump melted and the sauce began to bubble.  

I removed it from the heat, added the vanilla, and voila, the sauce was done. I didn't add the cornstarch because that was something I'd never seen in a caramel sauce and was wary about adding it. Maybe I'll try it in future attempts. I might also try heating the cream to see if doing so keeps the caramel from seizing up around the whisk. 

Onto the pudding itself. The first thing to do was to attack the pile of apples, which needed to be peeled and coarsely shredded.  It wasn't until I later found a Granny Smith apple in the drawer of my fridge that I realized I'd used five apples instead of six. Even five apples made a sizable mound of shreds. 

Next, I dumped the mound into a bowl along with the eggs, sugar, and oil (instead of melted shortening). 

I combined the flour with the salt, baking soda, and spices. Instead of adding 2 teaspoons of nutmeg, I used one plus a teaspoon of ginger. I did this because I have a family member who thinks nutmeg tastes funny and another who adores anything with ginger in it. (Feel free to adjust the spices to your liking.)

I stirred the wet and the dry ingredients together, added the chopped nuts, but left out the raisins, again to suit the tastes of my family members. The batter was quite wet as I poured it into a greased 9 x 13-inch pan. 

I baked the pudding for 40 minutes, and it came out looking like this.   

It seemed overdone. However, I did not fear. The same thing happened with Fresh Apple Cake, and it turned out to be deliciously caramelized. Would the same be true for Apple Pudding? We didn't have long to wait because the recipe said to serve it hot with the "dip," a.k.a. caramel sauce. Of course, I had to get out some ice cream too. 

The Verdict

I've said it before and I'll say it again--yum. 

First off, there's nothing like homemade caramel as a topping. This one remained fairly thin even after it had cooled, but it was so creamy and delicious I could have happily eaten it with a spoon. 

The pudding itself took moistness to the next level.  As you can see in the picture, the shredded apples were prevalent throughout, tender, juicy, and spice-infused. The nuts added an interesting crunch, while the toppings elevated the whole to I'll-have-one-more-piece status. We cut the pudding into 24 servings, but the seven of us came embarrassingly close to polishing off the whole pan. 

Everyone agreed--this one is sooo good.