Gary Rhodess Bread Butter Pudding Food

GARY RHODES'S BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING

Steps:

• Grease a 1.7 (3pint) litre pudding basin with butter.
• First make the custard:.
• Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar. Split the vanilla pod and place in a pan with the milk and cream. Bring the milk and cream to the simmer, then sieve onto the egg yolks, stirring all the time.
• Then:.
• Arrange the bread in layers in the prepared basin, sprinkling the sultanas and raisins in between layers. Finish with a final layer of bread without any fruit on top as this tends to burn. The warm egg mixture may now be poured over the bread and cooked straightaway or pour the custard over the pudding then leave it to soak for 20 minutes before cooking as it allows the bread to take on a new texture and have the flavours all the way through. So says Gary.
• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas4.
• Put the dish in roasting tray three-quarters filled with warm water and place in the oven. Cook for about 20-30 minutes until it begins to set. We're not aiming for a thick custard here - says Gary.
• When ready, remove from the water bath, sprinkle liberally with caster sugar to cover and glaze under the grill on medium heat, until the sugar dissolves and caramelizes.

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.