Hot Cross Bread & Butter Pudding

This recipe is a tantalizing seasonal twist on a classic bread and butter pudding, combining hot cross buns and luscious custard for the ultimate comforting pud. 

• Serves 6
• 1 hour 30 minutes (15 minutes hands on)
• Vegetarian 

Ingredients: 

– 6 large eggs
– 250ml whole milk
– 250ml double cream
– 2 tsp vanilla extract
– 6 hot cross buns
– 50g butter
– 100g caster sugar

Method:

1. Separate the yolks from four of the eggs and pour into a bowl (reserving the whites for another time – you can also freeze them). Crack the two remaining eggs into the bowl (whites and all), add the caster sugar and whisk until light and fluffy.

2. In a saucepan, heat the cream, milk and vanilla essence until just simmering but not boiling. Take off the heat, then slowly pour into the egg mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly until all the liquid has been added. Leave the custard to cool in the fridge for around 10 minutes.

3. Slice your hot cross buns in half and butter each slice on both sides. Layer the bottom halves of the buns in a baking tray and pour over half of the custard. Place the bun tops on each of the bun bottoms in the dish then pour over the rest of the custard. Let the pudding rest in the fridge for 45 minutes to let the buns soak up the vanilla custard.

4. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cover your pudding with tin foil and bake for around 35 minutes until crisp and golden on top. Leave to cool for a few minutes and serve.