Festival Recipe
Barmbrack Bread and Butter Pudding
Recipe by Rory O'Connell
- Serves6-8
Ingredients
- 12 slices good-quality barmbrack, crusts removed
- 2 ozs (50g/1/2 stick) butter (plus a little extra for greasing the cooking dish)
- Pinch of freshly-grated nutmeg
- 16 fl ozs (475ml/2 cups) cream
- 8 fl ozs (225ml/1 cup) milk
- 4 large eggs, beaten lightly
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 ozs (175g/3/4 cup) sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons apricot jam, warmed and sieved
- 1 x 20.5cm square / 6cm deep (or as close as possible) ovenproof serving dish
Garnish
- softly-whipped cream
Method
- Butter the barmbrack and arrange 4 slices, buttered side down, in one layer in the buttered dish.
- Sprinkle the bread with half the nutmeg.
- Arrange another layer of bread, buttered side down and sprinkle the remaining nutmeg on top.
- Cover with the remaining bread, buttered side down.
- In a bowl whisk together the cream, milk, eggs, vanilla extract, sugar and a pinch of salt.
- Pour the mixture through a fine sieve over the bread and let the mixture stand, covered loosely, at room temperature for at least 1 hour or chill overnight.
- Bake in a bain-marie – the water should be half way up the sides of the baking dish.
- Bake the pudding in the middle of a preheated oven, 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4, for 1 hour approx. or until the top is crisp and golden.
- Paint with the warm apricot jam to give a delicious and shiny finish.
- Serve the pudding warm with some softly-whipped cream. Notes This Bread and Butter Pudding reheats perfectly.
