Gravenstein Apple Chocolate Bread Pudding

I'm a huge fan of Gravenstein Apples, and I've written about them before. See my recipes for Chocolate Gravenstein Apple Pie and Gravenstein Apple Chocolate Brownies.

One of the bountiful treasures of Sonoma County is the Gravenstein Apple. Yesterday I bought a box of apples to eat and another to make Gravenstein Apple Chocolate Bread Pudding (and applesauce). Gravs don't last too long, but they're so delicious--tart, tangy and sweet all at the same time. You might not be able to find these in your market if you don't live in Northern California. They don't travel well. You can substitute other apples in this recipe, but I don't. I love the tartness of the Gravs with the rich sweetness of the chocolate. So here's a recipe for Gravenstein Apple Chocolate Bread Pudding.

Gravenstein Apple Chocolate Bread Pudding

Ingredients
5 slices day-old sourdough or challah, diced (if you don't have stale bread, dry it out in the oven)
2 tablespoons sweet butter, melted
2 cups Gravenstein apples, cut in 1/4 inch thick chunks
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate pieces
5 whole eggs, beaten
1 (14 oz) can condensed milk
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 375
1. In mixing bowl, whisk together milk, condensed milk, eggs, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon. Beat until blended. 
2. Layer bread in 8-9 inch square buttered baking pan. Pour melted butter over bread. Let soak in for 5 minutes.
3. Layer Gravenstein Apple chunks on top of the bread layer. Sprinkle with dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks.
4. Pour egg/milk mixture over bread and apples, making sure to cover completely. Make more egg mixture if you need to cover.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Bread pudding should be springy to the touch.

Chocolate Covered Apples

There was a booth selling carmel covered apples at the Gravenstein Apple Fair last weekend, but I prefer chocolate-covered apples. It was probably too hot to sell chocolate covered apples last weekend, but here's an easy recipe so you can make them at home.

Chocolate Covered Apples

6 firm Gravenstein Apples (or medium sized Fuji or Granny Smith)
6 sturdy lollipop/popsicle sticks
10 ounces dark chocolate
1/2 cup nuts
Waxed paper

Twist off stems of apples, and insert sticks into apple cores
Place apples in refrigerator while preparing chocolate.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a saucepan over a saucepan (I use a metal bowl over simmering water for this recipe, so it's easy to dip and roll the apple in the same bowl)
Dip apple into melted chocolate, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. Roll around in chocolate, turning with the stick, until the entire apple is coated.
Puts Nuts (or other topping) into separate bowl and roll apple until completely covered in nuts.
Place decorated apples on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, standing upright.
Refrigerate for 25 minutes or until the chocolate is set.

Gravenstein Apples: Chocolate Gravenstein Apple Pie

Recently Jonathan Kauffman blogged in the SF Weekly about the Slow Food's Gravenstein Apple Promotion: Make a Pie, Save a Tree.  Frank used to own an apple orchard in Sebastopol (Gravenstein, of course), and every time we drive through Western Sonoma County, he laments the loss of Gravenstein Apple Orchards to vineyards.

There really are no apples quite like Gravensteins. If you don't live in Northern California, you may not have had Gravensteins. They don't travel all that well. But if you do live here, now's the time to buy Gravensteins and preserve the heirloom/heritage varieties of foods that are disappearing from our markets. This year The Slow Food's Russian River chapter is launching a Gravenstein promotion to pay local farmers enough for their apples so they can afford to keep their trees.

The challenges faced by Gravensteins:
 1) commercial viability --they're short stemmed so many fall to the ground and are used for applesauce, vinegar and juice. And, as I mentioned, they don't ship well.
2) no surprise here but apple trees aren't as profitable as grapevines.

So Frank and I are doing our bit. We've planted 9 Gravenstein apple trees in our yard in Berkeley. They're Sonoma county trees (planted in Alameda County), and they're doing well. This is our 7th harvest (lucky #7) and the trees are filled with apples. Yes, a lot fall to the ground, but Topper, our golden retriever, loves Gravensteins as much as we do, and he makes short shrift of the ground apples. In the past he used to shake the small trees and make the apples drop, but this year the trees are big and full, and he has plenty to occupy his time and fill his stomach.

CHOCOLATE GRAVENSTEIN APPLE PIE

Ingredients
Pastry for a double-crust 9-inch pie, unbaked
8-10 tart Gravenstein apples (peeled, cored and sliced thinly)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 cup 70-85% dark chocolate fair-trade organic, broken into smallish pieces

Directions
1. Apples: peel, core, and slice thinly.
2. Combine the cinnamon & sugar = cinnamon sugar. (you may need a tiny bit more).
2. Place 1 layer of apple slices on the bottom crust. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar. Repeat twice.
3 Spread broken chocolate pieces over top.
4. Using remaining apples, make 3 more apple/cinnamon sugar layers.
5. Top with 2nd crust and seal edges. Make a cut on the top--or prick with fork in a few places.
6. Bake in preheated 450 F oven for 15 minutes (until golden).
7. Lower heat to 350F and continue baking for another 25-30 minutes, or until apples are tender.

I tweaked this recipe a bit. I posted it on Apple Pie Day, but I like more chocolate and using Gravensteins which are only available for a short time. It makes a difference. My apples are small, so I use more apples in the recipe.

Spread the word about Gravenstein Apples! Make a Pie, Save a Tree!!!