A Bread and Apple Sformato, or Pudding - Sformato di Mele e Pane

My grandmother used to make an apple pie with a mixture of apples and saltines -- Depression Cuisine -- and though she never made it for me, all those who remembered it said it was very good. This is an Italian bread-and-apple delight, which will be nice served with Zabaione. Also, it will be delicate if you use white bread, or rustic if you go with a richer whole wheat or mixed grain bread. For 4-6 people:

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/8 pounds (500 g) renette apples (these are winter apples that cook very well, and have mottled golden-russet skins
• 14 ounces (350 g) thinly sliced bread, crust stripped away and discarded
• 4 ounces (100 g) raisins, soaked in warm water
• 4 ounces (100 g) blanched almonds
• 1 pint (500 ml) milk
• 3 eggs
• A pinch of powdered cinnamon
• The grated zest of a half a lemon
• 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Butter and some breadcrumbs for greasing and dusting the mold

Preparation:

Set a pot with almost all of the milk and two thirds of the sugar on the fire and bring it to a boil. Lay the slices of bread out in a large, fairly deep plate, and pour the boiling milk over them. Peel, core, and finely slice the apples. Toast the almonds gently in the oven and break them up into pieces. Butter a ring mold well, dust it with bread crumbs, and line it with a layer of bread. Put down a layer of apples over the bread, followed by some of the raisins, squeezed dry, and some of the almonds. Continue alternating layers until all is used up, and seal everything with a last bread layer.

Preheat your oven to 380 F (190 C).

Beat the eggs with the remaining milk and sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and lemon zest. Slowly pour the mixture over the sformato, taking care that it is absorbed uniformly. Bake the sformato for about an hour. Unmold it onto a serving platter and serve it at once, with zabaione.

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