Bread pudding is a great dish to make ahead of time. It keeps fantastically in the fridge for up to a week. If you do make it ahead, simply cut into portions and warm them in the microwave.
Ingredients
1 loaf | Ciabatta bread, stale (Main) |
70 g | Suet fat, shredded (beef, veal or pork all work fine) |
1 | Granny Smith apple, or any tart apple, peeled, cored and finely diced |
20 g | Mixed peel |
100 g | Raisins |
40 g | Currants |
1 | Free-range egg |
1 ½ tsp | Mixed spice |
½ tsp | Allspice, ground |
½ tsp | Cloves, ground |
2 Tbsp | Dark rum |
150 g | Soft brown sugar |
20 g | Unsalted butter |
Butterscotch sauce
280 g | Caster sugar |
700 ml | Cream |
150 g | Unsalted butter |
Directions
- Heat oven to 180C.
- Remove crust from bread and discard. Cut remaining bread into 2cm pieces. Place bread in a bowl and cover with water for 30 minutes.
- After soaking, remove bread from water, squeezing out as much liquid as possible with your hands, and reserve for later use.
- Place suet, apple, mixed peel, raisins, currants, egg, spices and rum in a mixing machine bowl and beat with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes on medium speed.
- Add the bread and mix for a further 5 minutes.
- Spread pudding mixture out evenly in a 20cm x 15cm ovenproof baking dish with 4-5cm sides.
- Sprinkle brown sugar over the top and dot with small pieces of the butter. Place in oven and cook for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving with warmed butterscotch sauce and vanilla bean ice cream.
Butterscotch sauce
- Place sugar and 1/4 cup water into a small heavy based saucepan and bring to the boil over a high heat.
- Continue to boil until all the water has evaporated and sugar turns to a light golden caramel.
- Carefully whisk in cream, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter until combined.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.