Easter Bread Butter Pudding Food

HOT CROSS BUN & BUTTER PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3. Warm the cream and milk in a pan over a gentle heat. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla together with a fork in a large bowl, then gradually add the warm cream mixture.
• Halve the buns and spread with the butter. Arrange in a large shallow ovenproof dish (approx 25 x 32cm), dot with the marzipan and brush the marmalade on top.
• Pour over the cream mixture and set aside to soak for 15 mins. Press the buns down into the custard mixture as they soften.
• Bake for 50 mins until set, then remove and allow to stand for 10 mins. Dust lightly with icing sugar and serve while still warm.

SIMPLE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm milk, butter, vanilla, sugar and salt. Continue cooking just until butter melts; cool. Meanwhile, butter a 4-to-6-cup baking dish and fill it with cubed bread.
• Add eggs to cooled milk mixture and whisk; pour mixture over bread. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until custard is set but still a little wobbly and edges of bread have browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CLASSIC BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat the cream in a pan until boiling. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric whisk until light and fluffy, about 3-5 mins. Pour the hot cream over the eggs, whisking continuously, and when everything is mixed, set aside.
• Spread the bread with the butter, and cut into triangles. Arrange in a shallow baking dish, about 20 x 26 x 5cm, buttered-side up, in three layers, sprinkling the raisins and finely grating some nutmeg over the bottom two layers and leaving the top layer clear. Pour over the warm custard, lightly pressing the bread down with your fingers to help it soak in. Leave to stand for at least 20 mins before cooking. Can be prepared up to this stage several hours ahead, chilled and cooked when needed.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Sit the dish in a large roasting tin and pour a kettleful of hot water into the roasting tin so it comes three-quarters of the way up the outside of the dish. Bake in the oven for 20-25 mins until the custard is just set.
• Remove the pudding from its water bath and scatter the top liberally with more sugar. Caramelise the top under a hot grill or with a blowtorch - take it really far (a few burnt edges add to the flavour), but be careful it doesn't catch. Leave the pudding to rest for 5 mins, then serve with your favourite ice cream - I like bitter orange marmalade ice cream.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C/gas 4. To make the custard, heat the milk, cream and vanilla pod with its scraped out seeds (if using) together in a saucepan to just below boiling point. Meanwhile whisk the eggs and yolk with the caster sugar in a jug. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture, including the vanilla pod, over the eggs, stirring constantly until smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract now if using.
• Lightly butter an ovenproof dish approximately 20cm x 25cm x 5cm. Cut the crusts from the bread slices, then butter both sides of the bread and cut into triangles. Lay half of the bread slices in the bottom of the dish so that they are slightly overlapping. Mix the dried fruit with the lemon zest and sprinkle half of the mix over the bread. Layer the rest of the bread on top then sprinkle over the remaining fruit.
• Remove the vanilla pod from the custard then pour the custard over the pudding. Leave to soak for at least 30 mins, or longer in the fridge, if you like. Sprinkle over the demerara and bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown and puffed up.