APPLE CHEESECAKE & BREAD PUDDING

Oatmeal Raisin Bread Pudding

Oatmeal Bread
2 large eggs
12 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup canola oil
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashion oats
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground fresh nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350F.
Whisk together eggs, oil, butter, buttermilk and sugars.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl of the dry ingredients and stir until everything is incorporated. Scrape batter into a greased and floured 9-x-5-inch loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes. You can check to see if done by inserting a knife into the center and it comes out clean. Let rest for 5 minutes. Run knife around the sides of the loaf pan and remove loaf. Continue to cool on a rack.
Take the oatmeal loaf and cut it into 2-inch pieces. Lay them out over night uncovered to become stale.
Cinnamon Custard
2 ½ cups heavy cream
3 egg yolks
4 eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp fresh ground nutmeg
Whisk together all the ingredients until completely incorporated. Set aside until needed.
To make the bread pudding:
Preheat oven to 325F.
Butter a 8-x-8-inch pan. Place ½ of the bread pieces into the pan. Sprinkle ½ cup golden raisins over the bread. Pour ½ the custard mixture over the bread and press gently to allow the liquid to soak in. Scatter the remaining bread evenly. Followed by another ½ cup raisins and then the last of the custard. Again, press the bread down gently to allow the custard to absorb into the bread.
Place bread pudding into a pan that is large enough to hold both the pan and a water bath. Pour enough hat water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the pudding pan. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Remove pan from oven(carefully) and remove from water bath. Serve warm and with toffee sauce.
Toffee Sauce
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Stir brown sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add cream and vanilla and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake

For the Crust
30 gingersnaps
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
For the Apples
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter
3 large Golden Delicious or Fuji apples, peeled, cored and cut into eighths(I used Honeycrisps)
2 tbsp (packed) light brown sugar
For the Filling
1 1/2 pounds (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
6 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp apple cider
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy cream
Caramel Sauce for Drizzling
To Make the Crust:
Butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan.
Put the gingersnaps in a food processor and whir until you have crumbs; you should have a scant 2 cups. (If you are using graham cracker crumbs, just put them in the food processor.) Pulse in the sugar and cinnamon, if you’re using it, then pour over the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are moistened. Turn the crumbs into the springform pan and, using your fingertips, firmly press them evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan as far as they’ll go. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven. (The crust can be covered and frozen for up to 2 months.)
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Remove the pan from the freezer and wrap the bottom tightly in aluminum foil, going up the sides. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust is set and lightly browned. Transfer to a rack to cool while you make the apples and the filling. Leave the oven at 350 degrees F.
To Make the Apples: Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, toss in half of the apple slices and cook, turning once, until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the apples with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and cook them, turning, just until coated, another minute or so. Scrape the apples onto a plate, wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining apples. Let the apples cool while you make the filling.
Getting Ready to Bake: Have a roasting pan large enough to hold the springform pan at hand. Put a kettle of water on to boil.
To Make the Filling: Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium speed, scraping down the bowl often, for about 4 minutes, or until it is velvety smooth. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes. Beat in the cider, vanilla, and cinnamon. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Finally, beat in the sour cream and heavy cream, beating just until the batter is smooth.
Pour about one third of the batter into the baked crust. Drain the apples by lifting them off the plate with a slotted spoon or spatula, and spoon them into the pan. Cover with the remaining batter and, if needed, jiggle the pan to even the top. Place the springform pan in the roasting pan and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 to 45 minutes, covering the cake loosely with a foil tent at the 45-minute mark. The cake will rise evenly and crack around the edges, and it should be fully set except, possibly, in the very center–if the center shimmies, that’s just fine. Gently transfer the cake, still in the pan, to a cooling rack and let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it for at least 6 hours; overnight would be better.
Run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the crust, open the pan’s latch and release and remove the sides.