Mum’s Bread and Butter Pudding
My mum has always been the baker in our family. Rarely do we have a family dinner without 'sweets' made by Mum. Anything from a simple butter cake iced with vanilla icing and 100's and 1000's, to delectable seasonal tart. But for our family, Mum's bread and butter pudding is what screams familiarity and comfort. Walking into the house while the pudding is baking is the best part. That smell, it means home. It's always warm and full of eggy custard with just the right amount of spice. It's even better when Mum uses raisin bread as the base and then serves it with vanilla ice cream and double thick cream. Lets hope one of us can learn to make it as good as Mum!
Mum’s Bread and Butter Pudding
Ingredients
60g mixed raisins and sultanas
2 tablespoons orange juice (or brandy)
30g butter
4 slices good quality bread
3 eggs
3 tablespoons caster sugar
3 cups milk
3 tablespoons cream
1 /4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon demerara sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to moderate 180C (350F).
Soak the raisins and sultanas in the orange juice (or brandy) for 30 minutes.
Butter the slices of bread (and jam if you like), remove the crusts or leave them on if you prefer and cut each piece into 8 triangles. Arrange the bread in a lightly greased 1 litre oven proof dish.
Combine the eggs with sugar, milk, cream, vanilla and cinnamon and mix well. Drain the raisins and sultanas and add any liquid to the custard mix. Scatter the soaked raisins and sultanas over the bread and pour custard mix over the top.
Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour (not absolutely necessary).
Sprinkle the pudding with demerara sugar (lots) and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the custard has set and the top of the pudding is crunchy and golden.
Note: use good quality bread. Ordinary sliced white will tend to become soggy when it soaks up the milk. Fruit loaf works really well too.