21^st century

Bread-and-butter Pudding

Recipes for bread-and-butter pudding are plenty in vintage cookbooks, and all very similar. This is one of my favourites to make with leftover buns. You can use hot cross buns, bath buns, Sally Lunns, cinnamon buns, all kinds of buns. If the bun doesn’t contain spices or currants, I’d recommend you add some to the custard. Currants, dates, raisins and cranberries all work well. You can also go classic and use regular stale bread, or leftover raisin bread, or panettone.

Makes enough for two 20 cm (8 inch) enamel pie dishes, or one large one

butter, for greasing and spreading

2–3 stale, but not rock-hard, hot cross buns, or 2 slices of bread cut unto small triangles

25 g (1 oz) currants, soaked in water or rum overnight (optional)

350 ml (12 fl oz) milk

50 ml (1¾ fl oz) thick (double) cream

1 mace blade

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

4 egg yolks or 2 whole eggs

2 teaspoons sugar, to sprinkle

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease the pie dishes generously with butter.

Cut the buns into 1 cm (³/₈ inch) thick slices and butter each slice on one side. Or, for a more rustic pud, just halve the buns if they are not that big.

Arrange a layer of bun slices, or bread, buttered side up, in the bottom of the dishes. If using currants, scatter them over the top of the buns.

To make the custard, gently warm the milk, cream, mace and light brown sugar in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk the eggs in a bowl, add a little of the warm milk mixture to the eggs and whisk well, before gradually adding the rest of the milk mixture, whisking constantly.

Pour the custard over the prepared bun or bread layer and sprinkle with the sugar.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 20–25 minutes until the custard has set and the tops are nicely golden brown.

Serve with brown bread ice cream or vanilla ice cream, or clotted cream.