Photo: Lila la Loop
Oven-baked bread pudding with apple – a renaissance of leftover cooking
The apple pudding – also known as oven pudding – has a fascinating connection to the former mining region around the Baldeneysee in the Ruhr region. Its origins lie in the social and historical dimension of the dish. In the working-class families of the coal and steel industries in the Ruhr, thrift was a virtue, and cooking with leftovers was part of everyday life. Apple pudding – as a so-called "poor man's food" – reflects this way of life: nothing was thrown away, and much was made from little. Even simple ingredients acquired a festive character through skillful preparation. Today, with the Baldeneysee serving as a local recreation area and the region undergoing structural change, apple pudding stands as a symbol for the connection between tradition and modernity – a culinary heritage that preserves values such as sustainability, community, and creativity.
Renaissance of leftover cooking
Apple crumble is a prime example of so-called "leftover cooking"—a culinary concept dedicated to using up leftover food. Instead of throwing away stale bread or pastries, they are given a second life and creatively transformed into new dishes. The advantages are obvious: greater sustainability, less food waste, shorter shopping trips, and therefore less CO2 emissions. A particular benefit: surprisingly delicious results. In times of growing environmental awareness and rising food costs, leftover cooking is experiencing a renaissance.
Traditional dessert
Apple crumble is a traditional dessert from southern Germany, particularly from the Swabian region, where it is also known as "oven crumble." Its unique appeal lies in the combination of simplicity, sophistication, and sustainability: Stale bread is soaked—similar to French toast—in a mixture of milk, eggs, and sugar, layered with fresh apple slices or diced apples, and baked in the oven until a golden-brown crust forms. Apple crumble can be refined to suit individual tastes: raisins, almonds, cinnamon, or tonka bean create a variety of aromatic bread crumbles that are served warm and evoke memories of Grandma's cooking.
| Preparation time | portions | difficulty | Kitchen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 minutes | 1 | simply | German |
Ingredients
1 organic lemon
3 apples
50 g cinnamon sugar
8 cl Calvados
50 g slivered almonds
250g of bread rolls, brioche or rusks
500 g cream
50 g icing sugar
6 eggs
Besides that Butter for the mold
preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (top and bottom heat). Grease a casserole dish with butter.
2. Wash the lemons thoroughly with hot water and dry them. Finely grate the zest. Halve the lemon and squeeze out the juice. Wash, dry, peel, core, and dice the apples into bite-sized pieces. Mix the diced apples with the lemon zest and juice, cinnamon sugar, and Calvados. Toast the almonds in a non-stick pan until golden brown. Dice the bread rolls into bite-sized pieces. Mix both with the apples and transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Press down lightly.
3. Whisk together the cream, powdered sugar, and eggs, then pour evenly over the apple and bread mixture. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then bake on the middle rack for approximately 30 minutes.
| Recipe by: |
|---|
| Bianca Killmann |