Žemlovka aka Zemlbába (Czech apple-bread pudding)

Typical Czech bread pudding is made with bread, apples, cinnamon, sugar, raisins and curd or cottage cheese. We usually serve it as a dinner or lunch during the winter months. I know, Czechs are weird, sometimes we eat sweet stuff as main meals. Here is my veganized version that I like to make. It can be made without the cheese but if I really wanted to I could make it with tofu or vegan cream cheese. You can try to add some sweetened vegan cream cheese in between the layers if you wish. I made this pudding earlier this evening. The whole house still smells like cinnamon and apples.

1 loaf of Italian bread or other white bread, sliced

6 apples, peeled, cored and grated

2 1/2 cups soy or almond milk

1 cup raisins

1 tsp. vanilla extract

6 Tbs. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 9x13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray.

Place grated apples in a medium bowl and squeeze out excess liquid. Set aside.

Heat the milk with 3 Tbs. sugar and vanilla extract over medium-high heat until the sugar melts, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let cool.

Dip 1/3 of bread slices into sweetened milk, coating evenly. Squeeze out excess milk. Arrange soaked bread sliced in a single layer in baking dish. Spread 1/2 of the grated apples evenly over the bread. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup raisins, 1 Tbs. sugar and some cinnamon. Repeat the same steps making another layer of soaked bread slices, apples, 1/2 cup raisins, 1 Tbs. sugar and cinnamon. Arrange last layer of soaked bread over the apples and raisins mixture and sprinkle with 1 Tbs. sugar and rest of the cinnamon.

Bake bread pudding in oven 40 minutes. Serve warm by itself or with some vegan vanilla ice cream.