How to Make a Great Bread and Butter Pudding
Tradition at its best; a great bread and butter pudding brings families together on cold winter days. Here we look at some variations of this simple, but often underrated, classic pud.
Pudding One
- 8 slices of slightly stale white bread, crusts removed
- 50g of either sultanas or currants, or a mixture of both
- 2 eggs
- 40g caster sugar
- 1 pint milk (can be flavoured with vanilla)
- 50g butter
Spread the bread with butter. Cut the bread into fingers or small squares and place these in a buttered fireproof dish, followed by the fruit. It doesn’t need to look symmetrical, so just pile it in!
Beat the eggs with half the sugar and all of the milk. Next, pour this custard over the bread and fruit, then sprinkle the remaining sugar over the pudding and leave it to stand for 30 minutes.
Bake your pudding in a preheated oven (160C) for about 45 minutes, or until it has set and the top is crisp and golden.
If you prefer to use wholemeal bread, do! Try spreading it with orange marmalade as well as butter. Another adaptation is to replace the currants and sultanas with cherries and flavour the milk with chocolate instead.
Pudding Two
- 40g butter
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 pint of milk
- 25g icing sugar
- 50g vanilla sugar*
- 1 small fruit loaf
*Vanilla sugar can be made by cutting 1 vanilla pod into pieces and whizzing it through a food processor with 225g caster sugar until the pod has been completely broken down and thoroughly mixed with the sugar. Alternatively, add a few drops of vanilla essence to the sugar and mix well. It can also be made by adding 1 vanilla pod to the sugar and leaving it in an airtight container for 1-2 days before use.
Slice the fruit loaf fairly thickly and spread the slices with butter. Line a buttered pie dish with the slices, buttered side up.
Bring the milk to the boil then add the vanilla sugar and beaten eggs, stirring well to combine the ingredients. Pour this custard over the bread slices and place the dish in a roasting tin with enough water to come halfway up the side of the pie dish.
Bake in a preheated oven (180C) for about 30 minutes, during which time some of the bread slices will rise to the top and form a random crust. Sprinkle this with icing sugar and when the baking time is up, brown the crust under a hot grill.
Pudding Three
This version is a little richer and bolder; great for a little variety. Bread and butter pudding does not have to be the same each time you make it! Use yesterday’s baguette instead of sliced bread and try adding dried apricots or dates if you fancy using different fruits.
- 2 dessert apples
- 115g slightly stale bread slices, crusts removed
- 15g butter
- 75g granulated sugar
- 2 beaten eggs
- orange peel, cut into thin ‘sticks’
- 300ml single cream
- 2 tablespoons white wine of your choice
Peel and core the apples then cut them into rings about 2-3mm thick. Line the bottom of a buttered flameproof dish with the apple rings and sprinkle them with half the sugar.
Now pour the wine over the apple slices and cover them with your prepared bread. Flatten the bread gently with your hands. Beat the eggs and cream together, add the orange sticks and the rest of the sugar, then pour this mixture over the bread and leave your pudding to soak for half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 180C and bake the pudding for 20-30 minutes, or until the top is golden and the liquid is set.
Each of these versions is straightforward but can be adapted to what you have available and what you fancy. Enjoy trying them all and making your own versions...never let it be said that bread and butter pudding is predictable!
