Jamie Oliver’s Bun and Butter Pudding

Last week, I made Jamie Oliver’s banana honey bread which  turned out dense and chewy because I added in too much liquid. The dough looked rather dry at first, so I kept adding more banana puree and over did it! What was I going to do with a whole tray of buns that my kids would not eat? While going through Jamie’s website, I came across a highly rated bun and butter pudding recipe.

My chewy banana honey bread looked like the perfect ingredient for this recipe as the bread would definitely become a lot softer after soaking in the custard. With addition of a small amount of brandy and orange zest, this bun and butter pudding was a clear winner.

Bun and butter pudding (serves 6)

Ingredients

• 600ml semi-skimmed milk
• 600ml double cream
• 1 vanilla pod
• 4 medium eggs, preferably free-range or organic
• 170g caster sugar
• 6 hot cross buns, sliced in half and spread with a knob of butter
• 3 tablespoons Cognac (I substituted with brandy)
• handful of dried apricots, chopped (I substituted with raisins)
• zest of 1 orange
• a little icing sugar

Method

Preheat the over to 170°C. For the custard base, bring the milk and cream just to the boil in a saucepan. Cut the vanilla pod in half, scrape out the seeds and add to the pan. Whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale, then whisk in the milk and cream mixture, removing the vanilla pod shell.

Dip the hot cross bun halves in the mixture, then place in an ovenproof dish. Drizzle over the Cognac and sprinkle over the apricots and the orange zest. Sieve the custard over, and leave it all to soak for at least 15 minutes.Place the dish in a roasting tin, half-fill the tin with hot water, then bake the pudding for about 45 minutes. When cooked it will have a slight crust on top but will still be slightly wobbly inside. Dust with the icing sugar and serve.