Summer Bread and Butter Pudding..

A relentlessly wet Saturday in July  prompted the need for something comforting as dessert. The coincidental purchase of a Brioche loaf at the Market made Bread and Butter pudding a rather Wintery choice, so I decided to try to lighten it up a bit…I have to say it was a great success..

Edit: Today I used up all the 3-day-old bread in the house, and used some of my Blueberries instead of raisins – The Blueberries burst when they’re cooked and drizzle themselves into the bread – Yum! This is an ideal way to use up those soft supermarket Blueberries – the ones that I can’t bring my self to eat raw!

Easter Edit!: I’m using leftover home-made Hot Cross Buns to make a special B+B pudding for our Easter Sunday dessert! Yum!

EQUIPMENT:

• A two-pint oven-proof dish, well buttered (I use an old Pyrex one)
• A high-sided jug
• Whisk – a hand whisk will do.

INGREDIENTS: for about 4 hungry or 6 normal people!

• 1 small Brioche or good quality white loaf; crusts removed, and  cut into slices about 1-2 cm thickness.
• Butter   
• 3 eggs
• 250ml carton of whipping cream
• 2oz caster sugar
• Jam of your choice (I usually use marmalade for this in the winter time, but today I used some Gooseberry and Elderflower that I’d picked up at a Church sale) Strawberry Jam is also good..
• Handful of Sultanas (that’s what I used today, but soft blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or thinly sliced peaches or nectarines would be great too)
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla paste or a cap or two of Vanilla extract.

METHOD:

• Heat the oven to 180°Fan.
• Generously butter the dish.
• Spread the slices of bread with butter and  jam.

  

  Ready for the oven..

• Arrange half the slices of bread in the bottom of the dish
• sprinkle on half of the sultanas or other fruits (I don’t use a huge amount, by the way)
• and repeat with the rest of the bread and sultanas.
• Put the eggs, cream, sugar and vanilla extract into the jug and beat well for a minute or so to combine
• Pour the egg mixture slowly over the entire contents of the dish, allowing the custard mixture (because that’s what it is) to soak into the bread. I tend to push the bread down a little to ensure that it’s all well soaked through.
• At this stage, you can leave it for a while (or overnight, covered, in the fridge) to make sure the egg has soaked in, but I usually just put it straight into the oven.
•  Give it about 30-40 minutes until it has puffed up and the edges of the uppermost pieces of bread are beautifully crisp and golden along the edges. It may still be slightly wobbly under the first layer, but if you don’t like that, just give it another 5 minutes.

• Serve warm with proper custard (for true comfort!) or with a little pouring cream.

NOTES:

• For my St Patrick’s Day Banana Bread and Butter Pudding,(the time we ate the ordinary bread for lunch!)  I just buttered the last-week’s Banana Bread, but didn’t bother with jam at all..
• The cooking time will depend on what kind of bread you’re using. Don’t forget that even ordinary sliced pan is ideal for Bread and Butter pudding any day of the year!