Kicked-Up French Toast Bread Pudding

This recipe yields 8 to 12 servings.

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Ingredients:
8 large eggs
3 ½ cups whole milk
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 loaf of Challah or brioche cut in to 2 inch cubes ( I used Challah in this recipe)
½ cup of Vermont maple syrup
8 oz Salted Caramel chocolate porter
2 apples, peeled and diced in small pieces 
½ cup of chopped pecans
2 pats of butter
Directions:
Butter 12 ramekins.   In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, sugar, cream, and vanilla until well blended.
In a heated pan, melt butter, add apples and saute until soft.  Add beer, let it bubble for a couple of minutes, add maple syrup and pecans.  Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes and turn off burner.  Fill each ramekin ½ way with bread cubes, scoop out a few apple and pecan pieces, add them on top of the bread.  Add the rest of the bread to top off the ramekins.  Ladle in the egg mixture and some of the beer syrup mixture in to each ramekin.  Fill to the top with liquid.  Top off with the rest of the apples and pecans.  Refrigerate for 1 hour. 
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; place ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake until puffed and golden. About 1 hour (longer if the pudding hasn’t puffed up).  Cool slightly before serving.  Serve warm.