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.