Name: Bread and Butter Pudding
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 95 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 170 ml whole milk; 200 ml double cream; 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways (or 1 tsp vanilla extract); 2 eggs (large); 1 egg yolk; 30 g caster sugar; 6 slices day-old sandwich or white bread (crusts removed); 35 g lightly salted butter, softened (plus a little for greasing); 50 g mixed sultanas and currants; 0.25 unwaxed lemon, zest only (a quarter); 1 tbsp demerara sugar (for sprinkling)

Preparation

Heat the milk, cream and the scraped vanilla pod with its seeds in a saucepan until just below boiling. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, egg yolk and sugar in a measuring jug.
Slowly pour the hot milk onto the egg mixture, stirring constantly, until you have a smooth custard (if using vanilla extract, stir it in now).
Grease a baking dish of about 18 x 22 cm. Cut the crusts off the bread, butter both sides thinly and cut the slices diagonally into triangles.
Arrange half of the bread triangles in the dish, slightly overlapping. Mix the dried fruit with the lemon zest, sprinkle half of it over, then arrange the remaining triangles and the rest of the fruit on top.
Remove the vanilla pod from the custard, pour the custard over the bread and leave to soak for at least 30 minutes; overnight in the fridge works too.
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (conventional, top and bottom heat), sprinkle the pudding with the demerara sugar and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and risen.
Leave to rest briefly and serve warm, with cream, vanilla ice cream or custard as you like.

Drink with it

Mellow whisky · excellent match
Mellow Irish whiskey or Speyside, neat or with a drop of water
Vanilla, honey and dried fruit from the cask pick up the vanilla custard, butter and raisins; in Ireland the whiskey often goes straight into the pudding.
Whisky with food: cheese, chocolate, and savory dishes
Aged rum · good match
Aged rum, neat or with an ice cube
Toffee and vanilla from the cask suit the baked sugar crust and the raisins.
Drinking rum neat: how to get to know a bottling
Sweet wine · good match
Sauternes or Beerenauslese
Honey and apricot with fresh acidity cut through the creamy richness.
Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberately
Fortified wine · good match
Tawny Port or Pedro Ximénez sherry
Raisin and nut aromas link up with the dried fruit in the pudding.
Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage
Cognac and brandy · good match
Cognac VSOP, neat
Dried fruit and vanilla from the wood complement the raisins and egg custard.
Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy

Preparation

Heat the milk, cream and the scraped vanilla pod with its seeds in a saucepan until just below boiling. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, egg yolk and sugar in a measuring jug.
Slowly pour the hot milk onto the egg mixture, stirring constantly, until you have a smooth custard (if using vanilla extract, stir it in now).
Grease a baking dish of about 18 x 22 cm. Cut the crusts off the bread, butter both sides thinly and cut the slices diagonally into triangles.
Arrange half of the bread triangles in the dish, slightly overlapping. Mix the dried fruit with the lemon zest, sprinkle half of it over, then arrange the remaining triangles and the rest of the fruit on top.
Remove the vanilla pod from the custard, pour the custard over the bread and leave to soak for at least 30 minutes; overnight in the fridge works too.
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (conventional, top and bottom heat), sprinkle the pudding with the demerara sugar and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and risen.
Leave to rest briefly and serve warm, with cream, vanilla ice cream or custard as you like.

Drink with it

Mellow whisky · excellent match
Mellow Irish whiskey or Speyside, neat or with a drop of water
Vanilla, honey and dried fruit from the cask pick up the vanilla custard, butter and raisins; in Ireland the whiskey often goes straight into the pudding.
Whisky with food: cheese, chocolate, and savory dishes
Aged rum · good match
Aged rum, neat or with an ice cube
Toffee and vanilla from the cask suit the baked sugar crust and the raisins.
Drinking rum neat: how to get to know a bottling
Sweet wine · good match
Sauternes or Beerenauslese
Honey and apricot with fresh acidity cut through the creamy richness.
Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberately
Fortified wine · good match
Tawny Port or Pedro Ximénez sherry
Raisin and nut aromas link up with the dried fruit in the pudding.
Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage
Cognac and brandy · good match
Cognac VSOP, neat
Dried fruit and vanilla from the wood complement the raisins and egg custard.
Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy

Bread and Butter Pudding

Preparation

Drink with it

Mellow Irish whiskey or Speyside, neat or with a drop of water

Aged rum, neat or with an ice cube

Sauternes or Beerenauslese

Tawny Port or Pedro Ximénez sherry

Cognac VSOP, neat

This pairs well too.

American Apple Pie with Shortcrust Lid

Apple Crumble

Baked Apple in a Nut Coating (Bratapfel)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Bread and Butter Pudding

Preparation

Drink with it

Mellow Irish whiskey or Speyside, neat or with a drop of water

Aged rum, neat or with an ice cube

Sauternes or Beerenauslese

Tawny Port or Pedro Ximénez sherry

Cognac VSOP, neat

This pairs well too.

American Apple Pie with Shortcrust Lid

Apple Crumble

Baked Apple in a Nut Coating (Bratapfel)

Chocolate Chip Cookies