I don’t bake because I never follow a recipe, but I love to cook food and make desserts. It all comes together as I go along. If you’re fine winging it without quantities or rigorous instructions, this pudding recipe is for you. By the way, “pudding” refers to ALL things dessert in my world – not just pudding dessert. Here we go:

o Sliced white bread (sweet Hawaiian bread or brioche is great). Crusts off. 2 slices per serving so perhaps 8-10 in total if you’re serving 4 people
o Loads of butter
o Tangy apricot jam
o Currants
o A few eggs
o 3 - 4 cups of half and half
o 1 cup of sugar (brown and white)
o A few teaspoons of cinnamon & nutmeg
o Pinch of salt
o Vanilla essence

Grease proof a Pyrex dish and set the oven to 350. Butter the bread generously. Spread the jam generously onto the buttered bread. Cut into blocks and cover the dish (in a messy way – don’t line up the blocks neatly. The pudding looks more rustic this way). Sprinkle over a few handfuls of currents and rest.

Beat together a few eggs (2) with the half and half, sugars, spices, essence and salt. Pour it over the bread mixture and let it soak for at least 6 hours. Most of the bread should be covered. It will swell and bits of the bread will peek through from the liquid and that’s great., Those bits will get crispy in the oven.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until it balloons up like a soufflé. Leave to cool for 10 minutes and serve. You can serve it with English custard or runny vanilla cream (or as is, which is how I like best). It microwaves as left overs really well too.

Bon Appétit!