Bread and Butter Pudding, when you get it right, is such a lovely dessert and this version takes it to another level! At Easter everyone loves a Hot Cross bun, and it is these which make this recipe so special. Because they are packed with currants and include the spices (cinnamon and nutmeg) you would normally add to a regular B&B pudding, there is no need to have these handy, and the buns soak up the custard just like regular bread. We made this using a combination of regular and chocolate hot cross buns, but of course it works perfectly with just regular. Using our sweet and aromatic cinnamon sugar in this recipe is a very good thing to do.

01.

Ingredients

4 Hot Cross Buns, halved
50g Butter
300ml Milk
50ml Cream or Evaporated Milk
2 Eggs
50g Sugar

02.

Method

Grease a 1 litre pie dish with some butter, then butter the halved hot cross buns generously. Arrange the hot cross buns in layers, sprinkling each layer with a little cinnamon sugar, and pressing the layers firmly into the pie dish. Set aside.
Gently warm the milk and cream over a very low heat to scalding point. DO NOT LET IT BOIL. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add three quarters of the sugar and lightly whisk until pale. Add the warmed milk and cream, then stir well. Pour the custard over the hot cross bun layers – this is best done slowly, so the custard can soak into the buns and so it doesn’t spill over the sides of the pie dish. Finally sprinkle the top with the rest of the sugar, and add a few dots of butter. Set the dish aside and let it stand for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 180C, place the pudding in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the custard has set and the top is golden brown and crispy.