bread and butter pudding

Nothing says winter more than comfort food so as an ode to the last few days of winter, which is still lingering by the way, I made a brioche bread & butter pudding which was inspired by Unna’s brioche french toast that she recently shared on Instagram.  Bread and butter pudding is the epitome of comfort food (in dessert form) to my family and is up there with good old fashioned rice pudding.  The best thing about puddings like this is that they are even better the next day for breakfast.  Go on be a little reckless, I dare you *wink

Bread and butter pudding with crème anglaise – serves 6+

Ingredients: (pudding)
a day old loaf of bread – thickly sliced
100g butter – softened
2/3 cup dried fruit
2 cups milk
1 cup cream
1 tsp pure vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar
5 eggs
generous pinch salt

Ingredients: (crème anglaise – custard sauce)
1 cup cream
1 cup milk
1 tsp pure vanilla
pinch of salt
1/4 cup sugar
4 yolks

Method: (pudding)

Lightly grease a square pudding dish.  Butter both sides of the sliced bread and place in the dish, layering as you go.  Sprinkle the dried fruit on and around your bread as you go.
Preheat your oven 180° then whisk the eggs with the cream, milk, salt and spices until well combined and pour over the top of the bread.  Leave to absorb for 15-20 minutes.  Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden on top and set in the middle.

Method: (crème anglaise – custard sauce)

Gently heat the cream and milk in a small pan over a low heat until it just starts to simmer.  In a bowl beat the yolks with the sugar until it is thick and pale in colour.  While beating the yolks pour in a small amount of the milk/cream (approx. 1/4 cup) then add the yolk mixture to your pot and continue to stir over a very low heat until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not allow this mixture to boil!  Stir in the vanilla and salt then strain through a sieve into a small jug, place cling wrap directly over the sauces surface and allow to cool before storing in the fridge.

Notes:
- the crème anglaise can be made up to 3 days in advance
- I used cranberries and raisins here but have also used dried diced apricots and sultanas
- roughly chopped walnuts or pecans are a nice addition as are slivered almonds
- use a bread of your choice.  fruit loaf is particularly decadent
- a dollop of ice cream doesn’t go astray
- the zest of a lemon/orange and a sprinkling of dark chocolate chips makes for a nice variation