Desserts Recipe: Best bread and butter pudding

Bread and Butter is Pudding is one of those traditional English puddings that will never die. It has spread its wings right across the world and landed up in Cape Town where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. Bread and butter pudding became an old family favourite that my Nan used to make after a Sunday roast, but I decided to be a little decadent and spice it up a bit. I don't think my Nan used cream, but it definitely makes it richer

Some things in life are just about turning the old into the new. Quite often bread and butter pudding is associated with school cafeterias and dinners, nothing too exciting, but by adding and changing a few things around anything can be brightened up and this is how school cafeterias should be with bright smiles looking forward to their daily meals.

7 slices white bread, crusts cut off

50g butter, softened

50g raisins

5ml vanilla essence

100ml cream

100 ml milk

3 egg yolks

100g caster sugar

1 tsp brown sugar for the top

½ tsp cinnamon

• Preheat the oven to 180°c
• Butter the bread and cut the slices into triangles.
• Butter a dish for the pudding
• Place the triangles in the dish in 2 layers
• Sprinkle the raisins in between the layers
• Add the vanilla essence to the cream and milk
• Bring the mixture to the boil.
• Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar
• Leave the cream mixture to cool for a few minutes,
• Slowly add the mixture to the egg yolks,
• Stir all the time.
• Pour the custard over the bread
• Leave it to stand for 20 minutes before cooking
• Put the dish in a bain marie
• Bake for 20-30 minutes until the pudding begins to set

• Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon on top

Serves 2

It’s always good with cooking and baking to experiment with what you have available. Some things you might just want as they are because that’s how they were served for years and this is comfort food at its best, but if you want to give it a little bit of flavor then there are a few options available.

• Slice up a banana or a peach and place it between the two layers of bread. This will give you a nice fruity taste.

• When you are making the custard add a little peppermint essence so you will end up with a peppermint flavoured pudding.

• Melt some white chocolate into the custard and when the pudding comes out of the oven grate some more chocolate on top.