A very English dessert, bread and butter pudding is cheap, simple to prepare, and comforting in the extreme.
Ingredients
- 30g unsalted butter, softened
- 350g (about 12 slices) of a large, stale white loaf, crusts removed
- 75g caster sugar
- 1 large free-range egg and 3 egg yolks
- 300ml whole milk
- 300ml double cream
- 1 vanilla pod, split
- Generous grating of nutmeg
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp demerara sugar to sprinkle
Method
- 1. Butter a 1.2 litre ovenproof dish. Butter each piece of bread on one side with the remaining butter and slice into halves or quarters. Layer the pieces of bread (buttered-side up) in the dish, overlapping.
- 2. In a medium bowl, beat the caster sugar with the egg and yolks. Put the whole milk, double cream and vanilla pod in a small saucepan and heat almost to boiling point. Remove the saucepan from the heat, then slowly pour over the beaten egg mixture, whisking continuously. Strain the resulting mixture through a sieve into a large jug, scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and add them to the custard. Grate over nutmeg and stir to combine.
- 3. Pour the custard mixture evenly over the buttered bread, then top with a mixture of the demerara sugar and cinnamon. Leave to rest for 30 minutes, so the bread soaks up the custard mixture.
- 4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Bake the bread and butter pudding for 30-40 minutes until the custard has set and the pudding is golden and crunchy on top.
Nutritional info
Per serving (based on 6): 570kcals, 38.3g fat (22.1g saturated), 10.3g protein, 50g carbs, 21.7g sugar, 0.9g salt
Wine Recommendation
Serve this with small shots of sweet golden dessert wine or tawny port and good strong coffee.