Easter Bread & Butter Pudding

Easter Bread & Butter Pudding

This is a great way of using up stale hot cross buns and even those excess Easter eggs!

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 50minutes

Ingredients:

5 – 6 chocolate hot cross buns, sliced thickly
1 ½ tablespoons (30g) soft butter
275 ml milk
600ml cream
1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
4 eggs
100g (1 large) Easter eggs, crumbled (optional)
Ice-cream to serve (optional)
Praline
½ cup (40g) flaked almonds
¾ cup (165g) caster sugar
¼ cup (60mls) cold water

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to moderate (180°C/160°C fan forced). Grease a shallow 2-litre (8-cup) ovenproof dish. Spread cut surfaces of buns with butter. Sprinkle with Easter egg (optional).
2. Combine the milk, cream and sugar in a small saucepan. Stir over heat until hot. Whisk eggs in large bowl. Gradually add hot milk mixture as you whisk. Pour hot milk mixture over the hot cross buns. Leave to soak for at least 10 minutes, pressing down with your fingers occasionally to help the buns soak up the liquid.
3. Place the dish in a large baking dish; add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the ovenproof dish. Bake, uncovered, in moderate oven for about 45 minutes or until pudding almost sets. Remove the pudding from the baking dish; stand 5 minutes before serving.
4. Meanwhile make the praline: Line a baking tray with baking paper. Scatter over the almonds and place in the oven until golden about 5 minutes. Meanwhile combine sugar and water in a saucepan and place over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil. Boil, without stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes or until mixture turns golden. Remove from heat. Set aside for 2 minutes to allow bubbles to subside. Pour over almonds on the baking tray. Allow to cool. Break praline into shards.
5. Serve pudding sprinkled with praline

Lyndey’s Notes: If you don’t have a baking dish large enough to hold the ovenproof dish, make sure you soak the custard into the buns for at least 10 mins so that it begins to set and reduce the temperature of the oven to 170°C (150°C fan-forced) and cook a little longer. Also have a bowl or sink of cold water ready so if your toffee for the praline starts to burn, you can put the base of the saucepan in the cold water and stop it cooking.

Recipe created for Aldi Easter catalogue 2015