The versatile bread and butter pudding
Firstly, sorry about the lack of updates. Work’s been a little odd - very quiet and now incredibly busy. I’ve not forgotten about blogging - it’s just that I’ve been too busy doing work to do these sorts of activities to help find work.
To make up for it, I’m keeping my hand in with the writing by giving you another recipe. This is one of my absolute favourite desserts (and I’m a big dessert fan) and incredibly simple and versatile to boot. It’s perfect for entertaining because it can be left to stand for 20 minutes or so (perhaps longer), it freezes well and re-heats in the microwave, probably because it’s very moist. It’s also got masses of lovely cholesterol and sugar in it to really keep you fit and healthy. Tonight I’m making one with real fruit in to try to counteract those effects.
A bread and butter pudding is, basically, bread and butter with an egg custard and other “stuff”. The root of it is incredibly simple:
Egg custard
- 4 egg yolks
- 300ml milk
- 300ml double cream
- 100g caster sugar
- 1-2 drops vanilla extract (optional)
Beat the egg yolks, then add the milk, cream, sugar and vanilla extract (pod can be used too if you’re feeling flush). Give it a little whisk to get a bit of air in and mix it all up - and you’re done.
The bread and butter
You don’t have to use bread and butter - there are myriad bread-based things you can use. As long as it’s absorbent (and works with sweet stuff - so white is probably best) it should work. I’ve seen recipes using hot cross buns, croissants, and even pain au chocolat - just remember that other fillings you may use need to complement the “bread” part of the dish, so sultanas would work well with hot cross buns, for example. Quantities depend on the size of the dish you’re using and your preferred custard/bread ratio; about 9 slices of bread works well with the above quantity of custard, though. It should serve 4 with the above custard quantity, so that’s about 2 slices of bread - and probably 2 croissants/1.5 hot cross buns each.
Cut into rough “soldiers” (I cut slices of bread into thirds) and butter, or tear up your croissants/buns and butter them. Put them higgeldy-piggeldy into a buttered, oven-proof dish or casserole which can hold at least 2 pints, layering with your filling (see below) until you reach the top.
Extras
The extras are where it can get interesting - use, basically, whatever you want, as long as it goes with the “bread” part. Marmalade seems to be used quite often, but I’ve never tried it (and don’t fancy it much); jam, likewise. Sultanas work very well - and are what I remember from childhood - but remember not to put them on the very top or they’ll swell and go crunchy. Chocolate chips could be used, as could real fruit - supermarkets often sell bags of frozen summer fruits for smoothies which are worth trying. Layer your extras between the bread and push them into any gaps. It’s not supposed to be pretty; just shove it all in but try to spread reasonably evenly.
About 150-200g of loose extras - fruit, chocolate chips - should be used, to taste. The beauty is that you can just grab handfuls and pop them in as you see fit, and keep the rest.
Finishing off
Once you’ve layered everything, pour the custard into the dish, making sure you get a little over all the bread - it should get absorbed so don’t worry if the level is below the level of the bread. Dust with cinnamon, nutmeg or a little of both and pop in a pre-heated oven at 180°C/gas mark 4 (try at 160°C in a fan assisted oven, but vary as you would any recipe to suit your equipment) for 45-50 minutes. Stand for 15-20 minutes and serve with cream, ice cream, or as it is. Lovely.
0