Apple Soup with Pound Cake Croutons

Ingredients

• 1 cup apple cider 
• 3  braeburn apples cored peeled quartered
• 1 stick cinnamon (3-inch)
• 1 Dash ground cloves 
• 1 cup cooking wine dry white
• 3  granny smith apples cored peeled quartered
• 1 Dash ground allspice 
• 0.5 cup half-and-half 
• 10.8 ounce round cake reduced-fat (such as Sara Lee)
• 0.5 cup sugar 
• 0.5 cup water 

Equipment

• food processor
• bowl
• frying pan
• baking sheet
• oven
• wire rack
• blender
• slotted spoon
• dutch oven

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 37
2. To prepare croutons, slice cake crossways into 8 (1/2-inch) slices; reserve remaining cake for another use.
3. Cut each slice diagonally into 2 pieces.
4. Place cake pieces on a baking sheet.
5. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes or until lightly browned, turning after 4 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
6. To prepare soup, combine cider and next 8 ingredients (cider through cinnamon) in a large Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until apples are very tender.
7. Remove cinnamon stick with a slotted spoon; discard.
8. Place half of apple mixture in a blender or food processor; let stand 5 minutes. Cover tightly; process until smooth.
9. Pour pureed apple mixture into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining apple mixture.
10. Place pureed mixture in pan; stir in half-and-half. Cook over low heat 5 minutes or until heated, stirring occasionally.