Bread and butter pudding

Transform a stale loaf into a comforting bread and butter pudding. This traditional British dessert is layered with a rich vanilla custard, dried fruit and lemon zest.

Ingredients: (serves 6)
•    8 slices of stale white crusty bread
•    250 millilitres milk
•    300 millilitres double cream
•    1 teaspoon vanilla extract or essence
•    3 whole eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
•    5 tablespoons sugar
•    50 grams butter, softened plus extra for greasing
•    75 grams mix sultanas and currants or other dried fruit
•    zest ½ lemon

Method:
1.    Heat oven to 180C. To make the custard, heat the milk and cream together in a saucepan to just below boiling point.
2.    Meanwhile whisk the eggs and yolk with the three tablespoons of sugar in a jug. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture over the eggs, stirring constantly until smooth. Stir in the vanilla.
3.    Lightly butter an ovenproof dish approximately 20cm x 25cm x 5cm. Cut the crusts from the bread slices (toast and use as croutons), then butter both sides of the bread and cut into triangles. Lay half of the bread slices in the bottom of the dish so that they are slightly overlapping.
4.    Mix the dried fruit with the lemon zest and sprinkle half of the mix over the bread. Layer the rest of the bread on top then sprinkle over the remaining fruit.
5.    Pour the custard over the pudding and leave to soak for at least 30 mins, or longer in the fridge, if you like.
6.    Sprinkle over the two tablespoons of sugar and bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown and puffed up.

Recipe created for #FoodSavvy Norfolk & Suffolk