Whenever autumn rolls around I feel the need for not only large quantities of starch, but nostalgic starch. My mum is a great pudding maker and we often had a really good 'nursery' pudding. Delights such as Syrup Sponge (with custard), Chocolate Sponge (with chocolate custard), Eve's Pudding (ahem, custard), crumbles of various types, Rice Pudding. More rarely we might have had steamed puddings such as Jam Roly-Poly or Clootie Rumpling. The former I think has gone out of vogue somewhat as it contains suet, which not perhaps the healthiest way of having fat in your diet. The latter is not well known by people who aren't of Scottish heritage. It's a similar shape to a Jam Roly-Poly (at least that's how I remember it) and also contains suet, but it taste is more akin to Christmas pudding. Or perhaps a steamed fruited parkin, as being Scottish it contains the grain that was most readily available, oats. It's surely what was in mind when the term rib sticking was coined. And now the Bread and Butter pudding. I think this pushes the same buttons as Rice Pudding. It's sweet, stodgy and milky all at once. Breast milk for adults.
A note about the bread. It must be day old and it must have come unsliced. You couldn't make this with anything like Hovis or Kingsmill. You'd end up with mush. It has to be able to fight back a little bit against the custard mix. And the butter should be at room temperature, otherwise you'll be making big holes in your bread.
Ingredients
12 thin-ish slices of day old white bread
100g butter, at room temperature
100g caster sugar
100g sultanas
600ml semi-skimmed milk
2 eggs
freshly grated nutmeg
Lightly grease a 3pt oven dish.
Butter all 12 slices of bread on one side only then cut in half diagonally. Arrange half of these, butter side down in the oven dish. Sprinkle with half your sugar and half the sultanas. Arrange the remaining bread butter side up, and repeat with the remaining sugar and fruit.
In a jug beat the eggs and milk together then pour over the pudding until it is evenly distributed. Grate over the nutmeg and leave to stand for 1 hour to allow the bread to soak up the custardy mix.
When you are ready to cook it, preheat the oven to 180C and cook for 40 minutes until golden and the top layer of bread it wonderfully crisp.
Serve as it is or with something else on it. You could put cream on it, or perhaps some stewed fruit would be nice, something a little tart to cut through the milky sweetness. I have it with a splash of cold milk. I don't know why, old habits etc etc.
A note about the bread. It must be day old and it must have come unsliced. You couldn't make this with anything like Hovis or Kingsmill. You'd end up with mush. It has to be able to fight back a little bit against the custard mix. And the butter should be at room temperature, otherwise you'll be making big holes in your bread.
Ingredients
12 thin-ish slices of day old white bread
100g butter, at room temperature
100g caster sugar
100g sultanas
600ml semi-skimmed milk
2 eggs
freshly grated nutmeg
Lightly grease a 3pt oven dish.
Butter all 12 slices of bread on one side only then cut in half diagonally. Arrange half of these, butter side down in the oven dish. Sprinkle with half your sugar and half the sultanas. Arrange the remaining bread butter side up, and repeat with the remaining sugar and fruit.
In a jug beat the eggs and milk together then pour over the pudding until it is evenly distributed. Grate over the nutmeg and leave to stand for 1 hour to allow the bread to soak up the custardy mix.
When you are ready to cook it, preheat the oven to 180C and cook for 40 minutes until golden and the top layer of bread it wonderfully crisp.
Serve as it is or with something else on it. You could put cream on it, or perhaps some stewed fruit would be nice, something a little tart to cut through the milky sweetness. I have it with a splash of cold milk. I don't know why, old habits etc etc.
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