Bread and Butter Pudding

This bread and butter pudding is my cheat to a simple, easy yet delicious, baked dessert. If you are thinking this is a rich dessert, let me console you by saying I have used less butter, and no cream!

I have been asked why I don’t publish many recipes that involve baking. The answer is pretty straightforward. It’s sort of new to me.

My mum was never into baking. The oven in my grandmother’s kitchen was sparingly used. That doesn’t mean that I had a miserable childhood 🙂 I did grow up munching on a lot of baked goods. They came from some of the best bakeries around. Some of them came from our family friends who were into baking.

Just like the Onam season when we got tired of eating banana chips at our home and all other homes that we visited, Christmas was the time to get tired of eating cakes. Those days most cakes we got were plum cakes. Then came the ones with castor sugar icing. The glazing that was too sweet that you got a high from eating just a slice. These cakes slowly evolved to cream based and more soft, cushiony and flavoursome ones like the modern day cakes that we have now!

So we have established the fact that there isn’t much of baking in my history. After I got married I learned that my wife has a penchant for baking. She started with cinnamon rolls, then moved onto cakes, bread, occasional cookies, and sometimes pizzas. I was not to be moved. While I happily ate everything she baked, I refused to lift a finger to help with the preparation and baking. My cousins who visited us for weekend get-togethers baked pies, grilled chicken, and toasted buns. I was not to be moved! Not me, not my cup of tea! And definitely not a piece of cake!

I kept thinking that this oven is something to be revered. It has to be looked at a from a distance, carefully observed and awed. We maintained the mutual respect for years! It’s only recently that I figured out that my inhibitions about using an oven were mostly from the fact that I don’t get to see how the dish develops from the ingredient stage to a finished product. You preheat the oven, mix the ingredients, put them in a pan, shove the pan inside, and let the timer run. If things go well, after the stipulated time, you get some edible food ready! If that’s not magic, what is it!

When I cook, I want to see how it progress, when stuff change from raw to cooked, moist to dry, cold to warm, etc. etc. But not anymore. I have accepted the fact that baking is not the same as cooking! It’s another way of life! I have stopped approaching it philosophically and let thermal energy do its work.

Bread and Butter Pudding – The Legendary Classic!

Bread and Butter Pudding is a classic dessert. It’s one of the easiest preparations. For a beginner, bread and butter pudding is something you get right easily. Grease the pan with butter, butter the bread, and layer them with some raisins. Soak them in custard and bake till the top is browned and crispy while the pudding is cooked through and moist!

Serve it with a dollop of ice cream on top! Make some extra custard. That’ll be a nice touch for the second serving! 🙂

Once you have tried baking this pudding, don’t forget to check out my easy caramel custard recipe!

Print Recipe

Bread and Butter Pudding

This bread and butter pudding is my cheat to a simple, easy yet delicious, baked dessert. This light version requires less butter, and absolutely no cream!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time35 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

• 12 slices bread
• butter
• 2 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 piece cinnamon
• 1/2 cup raisins or sultanas

Instructions

• Blitz 3 tablespoons of sugar with a piece of cinnamon to a fine powder. This is our cinnamon flavoured castor sugar.

Custard (we are not adding any cream)

• Heat the milk in a pan. Do not let it boil. Switch off just when it reaches the scalding point. Add the vanilla extract, mix well, and let it sit for 2 minutes.
• Crack two eggs into a mixing bowl.
• Add 2/3rd of the castor sugar that we prepared earlier. Whisk well.
• Slowly strain the hot milk to the mixing bowl while stirring continuously.

Now to baking

• Grease the baking dish with butter. Don't miss out on the edges and corners.
• Spread butter on all bread slices only on one side. Cut them into triangles.
• Arrange the bread slices in layers in the baking dish with the buttered side facing down. Add raisins above each layer of bread. You should have bread and raisins in layers.
• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Pour the custard over the bread and sultanas in the baking dish. Let the bread pieces soak up all the custard.
• Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon infused castor sugar on top.
• Place the dish in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Check after 30 minutes. Switch off if the pudding looks golden brown on top. Leave in for another 5-10 minutes if required.
• Serve hot. It'll pair well with some ice cream, and some custard to pour on the top.