Bread Pudding Almost like We had in New Orleans

This recipe was super fun for me and Ella. She tore the bread and did all the measuring and hand mixing. It was definitely a kid friendly recipe.

1 Cup of cubed french bread
2 Egg yolks
4 Tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 cups of milk (the creamier the better, I used 2%)
1 Tablespoon of cinnamon
Apple
Raisins

Take the crust off of the french bread and tear the bread into cubes making sure to keep them fluffy like clouds.
Soak the bread cubes in the milk for one hour.
Beat egg yolks and add to bread cubes and milk.
Add sugar vanilla, raisins and cinnamon.
Dice very small or julienne 1/4 to 1/2 the apple and add to the mix.
Pour mixture into four custard cups, almost to the top is ok, (they don't rise.)
Set custard cups into a larger cake pan and add water to the cake pan so that the water is at least half way up the outsides of the custard cups.
Bake at 350 until the tops are golden brown and it's holding together (about an hour-ish, you can check it with the toothpick, just like brownies)

Meringue:
Beat with a whisk two remaining egg whites until it holds stiff points.
While beating slowly add 1/4 cup of powered sugar.
Add to the top of the bread pudding and put back in the oven at 350 - about 10-15 minutes until meringue is golden brown.

I'd show you a picture but it didn't last long enough to get a camera out.

Here's how they actually did it at the Commander's Palace, this was the bread pudding that set the precedent for all bread pudding thereafter.