Preheat oven to 350 F, and butter a 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
Place the apple juice in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduced to one cup, and remove from heat. Let it cool to room temperature and set aside
Peal the apples and cut them into 1/2-inch cubes. Melt 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter over medium heat in a non-stick 12-inch pan. Once the butter is melted, add all the apples and sprinkle in the sugar. Toss the apples and sugar together until the apples are evenly coated.
cook the apples, on high, until most of the liquid is evaporated and the apples begin to caramelize.
When the liquid has completely evaporated, remove the pan from the heat, sprinkle in cinnamon. Stir and set aside to cool.
Cut the challah bread into 3/4-inch cubes.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Add the milk, cream, and cooled apple juice reduction. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
Add the cubed bread into the custard mixture until the bread is submerged and wet. Let it soak for at least 30 minutes up to an hour.
Set aside 1/4 of the cooked apples and add the remaining cooked apples to the bread pudding mixture. Gently fold into the mixture until combined.
Pour bread pudding mixture into the prepared baking dish. Spread the remaining cooked apples over the bread pudding and drizzle melted butter over the top.
Bake the bread pudding for 45-60 minutes. Golden brown and firm, with a little give in the center is what we are looking for. Let cool for 25 minutes to let bread pudding firm up.
serve with a caramel sauce and/or ice cream
