Low-fat bread and butter pudding

Use a loaf of french or italian bread for this recipe, and it is ideal if this is stale! I actually ended up making this last night after forgetting about a loaf of bread I bought for the weekend. It's easy to whip up with staples in the kitchen and makes a really comforting dessert (or breakfast!).

Ingredients:

1 loaf stale sourdough bread, sliced. (Choose one with a nice thick crust)
2 small or one large apple. (Cut into quarters, then thinly slice the quarters)
2.5 cups of low-fat soy or dairy milk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
2 tablespoons sultanas or raisins
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of organic butter
honey
low-fat vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180 °C. Lay the bread slices in a greased baking dish (like a casserole dish) in whatever arrangement you like. I like to leave some of the crusts on the top as these go crunchy when baked.
Sprinkle with the cinnamon, layers of the apples and sultanas/raisins. This can be on top of the bread or down the sides of the dish, depending how you arranged the bread slices.

Mix the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla essence together in a jug for ease of pouring, with a whisk till well combined. Pour the milk mixture over the bread. The milk mixture should soak all the bread well, and fill the gaps between the bread. You can add a little more milk through one of the gaps if there seems to be lots of empty space between the bread. Dollop a little butter on any edges of the bread that are exposed from the milk.

Place in the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 45 - 60 minutes, until the custard is firm and set, and the bread is crispy and golden on top.

Serve drizzled with honey and accompanied by low-fat vanilla ice cream (soy or dairy). You can freeze left over in small containers and defrost in the microwave, then place on an oven tray and reheat at 180 °C for 15 minutes and enjoy the left overs whenever the craving hits!