Bread and Butter Pudding
- 2 tbsp dried cranberries
- 2 tbsp dried sultanas
- 2 tbsp Cointreau or Grand Marnier
- 250 ml milk
- 200 ml cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 8-10 slices stale square raisin or fruit bread
- 50g soft butter (to spread on the bread)
- 4 large eggs (or 5 medium)
- 100g caster sugar
Optional
- icing sugar for serving
- 25g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
Soak the cranberries and sultanas in the liqueur.
Gently heat the milk, cream and vanilla to a simmer, remove fromt he heat and leave to cool slightly.
Heat the oven to 180°C. Butter the bread and cut each slice into four triangles. Arrange in an overlapping layer in a 25cm x 20cm buttered overproof dish. Scatter with most of the fruit and its liqueur (retain a little for the top), and all of the chocolate. Cover with a final, overlapping layer of bread.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together for 3 minutes until pale, then whish in the milk mixture. Pour over the bread and leave for 30 minutes to absorb. Place the dish in a roasting tin and add boiling water to the tin until it reaches halfway up the sides of the dish (on the outside – the dish full of pudding sits in the tin full of water). Scatter with the remaining fruit and liquer.
Bake for 35 minutes or until golden (the liquid must be firm, with little give). Dust with icing sugar and serve.