In which I use far too many italics, and redefine “pudding.”

I just plain do not understand how this is pudding, except in the way that most jumbled-up things in Amish cooking are, in fact, referred to as “puddings.”

This is not an insult.

This is an observation that my Apple Sponge Pudding does not resemble Jello-Brand Whatever-Flavor Instant Pudding in any discernible way.

What it does resemble is a beautiful mess of warm apple chunks, crispy brown sugar crust and fluffy bundles of cream-absorbent cake in a pan. This, my friends, is vastly superior to the smooth, fat-free-sugar-free stuff that I plop in a bowl with Cool Whip and call desert. This pudding is — dare I say it? — hearty. Heart-warming. It fills the kitchen with that unmistakable aroma of “We’re having real desert tonight.”

For actual bakers (myself absolutely not included), prep time could probably be cut in half. But I’m slow, and had to do things like search for the beater-mixers, slice my thumb on the apple-corer, scratch my head and wonder what “stiffly-beaten” egg whites looked like . . . you get the idea.

Amish Apple Sponge Pudding

Prep: 25 minutes

Bake: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

6 medium-sized apples          1tsp baking powder

2 eggs, separated                        1/2 cup water

1 cup white sugar                        1 tsp vanilla or lemon extract

1 cup flour                                       2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp salt                                       2 cups brown sugar

Method:

(text lifted directly from the Mennonite Community Cookbook, notes in parentheses my own)

Wash, pare and slice apples. (I chose to peel mine with a carrot peeler, core them with an apple corer, and dice them into bite-size chunks. And by “chose,” I mean that’s all that I knew how to do)

To make batter, beat egg yolks and add sugar.

Sift dry ingredients together and add alternately with water and flavoring. (I mixed with a fork because it seemed reasonable, and accidentally used 1/4c extra water. No harm, no foul)

Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. (If by “stiff,” she means “foamy,” then I nailed it)

Melt butter and brown sugar in bottom of large, flat baking dish. (I stuck the butter & unpacked brown sugar in the same bowl in the microwave for a minute. I pressed the resulting mixture into the bottom of the pan because the consistency reminded me of graham-cracker crust)

Add sliced apples.

Pour batter over top of apples. (If I made this again, I would use half the apples or double the batter — or maybe very thinly slice the same amount of apples. As it was, the batter didn’t come close to covering the surface of the apples, even after spreading it around)

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Turn upside down to serve.***

Serve with cream. (We used Cookies n’ Cream ice cream because, you know, same idea, right?)

Makes 8 servings.

*** This sounded simple. It was not. I waited about fifteen minutes for the pan to cool a bit (possibly my first mistake?), then tipped it over into an identical pan — high sides, same dimensions, etc. I then enlisted my other half to hold the original pan while I mercilessly scrapped the gooey brown sugar and butter mixture from the bottom of the original  & onto the top of the finished pudding. Many dangling bits of delicious cake and apples fell to the floor, to the excessive delight of my dog.

All in all, I am beyond pleased with this new idea of “pudding” — I feel like it means “a big dish of a bunch of good stuff that goes well together — grab a spoon and enjoy at will.” I hope that you give it a try, and tell us your experience!

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