Bread Pudding

Christmas is a time of nostalgia and tradition, so I thought it'd be nice to try an old school recipe like bread pudding. I asked my mother for her recipe, but unfortunately she doesn't bother with things like 'measurements' or 'timings' so I adapted one I found on the BBC website instead. Having never made it before I'm sure this is far from the textbook bread pudding recipe. However, I really like the result. Stodgy and satisfying, it has a nice background fragrance without being too sweet or spicy.

Prep Time: 10 Mins (Plus soaking time)

Baking Time: 75 Mins

500g White Bread

150g Soft Brown Sugar

500g Mixed Fruit

500ml Milk

Zest of 1 orange and 1 Lemon

1 Cinnamon Stick

2 Large Eggs

100g Unsalted Butter (Melted)

A handful of Demerara Sugar

So to start, in a large bowl tear the bread up into small pieces and sprinkle over the soft brown sugar and mixed fruit. In a saucepan pour in the milk, add the cinnamon stick and the zest then bring up to the boil. Turn the heat off and let it sit for 10 minutes to infuse. Once it's cooled for a bit pour the milk over the bread, give it all a mix round and let it sit for a further 15 minutes, until it's all soaked in.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and grease/line base of a 20cm square cake tin (without a loose base if you can). Remove the cinnamon stick, then crack in both the eggs and mix it all around. Pour in the melted butter and give it a final mix until everything is incorporated. Spoon into the tin and sprinkle over the demerara sugar, which will give the final pudding a sticky, crunchy topping. Place in the centre of the oven for about 75 minutes, covering with foil if it starts to colour too much on top. When it's done remove from the oven and let it cool in the tin. You should be able to turn it out relatively easily and it's really nice served warm, especially on a wet and windy December evening!