Brioche Bread & Butter Pudding

Brioche bread & Butter Pudding©Kevin Ashton 2022

People often confuse Bread and Butter pudding with bread pudding, so let me clarify:  Bread pudding is more cake like and a great way to use up stale bread.  Bread and Butter pudding is made with fresh slices of buttered bread and baked in a custard, when done well it should be light and custardy not stodgy and heavy because there is too much bread.

I created this recipe the other week to make a quick dessert to take down to my sister’s house for Sunday dinner. I used store bought ready sliced Brioche because I wanted the result to be light as possible.

Whenever you are trying one of my dessert recipes I make a point to specify the size of tin or dish that I am using so you can replicate the recipe at home. 

Ingredients serves 6

6 large eggs

100 ml  double (heavy) cream

400 ml whole milk

200 grams sultanas

6 thick slices of Brioche loaf 

60 grams unsalted butter

75 grams Vanilla sugar * (or 75g caster sugar plus seeds from 1 small vanilla pod)

½ heaped teaspoon of cinnamon

50 grams sliced almonds

1 Tbsp Amaretto 

Method:

  1. Lightly butter an ovenproof dish approximately 12 x 8 inches oval dish that is 3 inches deep.
  2. Soak the sultanas in boiling water to help rehydrate them for 3 minutes then drain well.
  3. Stir the cinnamon into the butter until it is soft enough to spread.
  4. Trim the crusts off the Brioche bread then gently spread on the cinnamon butter.
  5. In a large bowl whisk the eggs, vanilla sugar, milk and cream until well mixed.
  6. Cut the bread slices into 1/4’s (corner to corner) and place a layer into the buttered dish, butter side up.
  7. Cover the bread layer with drained sultanas.
  8. Make a second layer of the remaining bread.
  9. Gently ladle the egg mixture over the bread, making sure to press the slices of brioche down if they float.
  10. Bake in a preheated oven gas mark 4 (180 C) for 35-45 minutes.
  11. Whilst the pudding is baking in the oven, toast the sliced almonds in a dry nonstick frying pan on a medium heat until very lightly brown, then remove from the heat and add the Amaretto and stir into the nuts.  
  12. When the pudding is lightly brown and set remove from the oven and sprinkle on the almonds.

Whole Brioche Bread & Butter Pudding

Chef’s Notes: 

*Whenever I use a vanilla pod I save the empty pod, chop it up and add it to a jar of caster sugar.  Over time the vanilla flavour  from the pods flavours the sugar.  I do this to be thifty but also so my desserts are flavoured with real vanilla.  

When you use dried fruit for a recipe it will rehydrate during the cooking process and thus absorb some of the moisture from the dish. But in the case of a Bread and Butter Pudding, I wanted to keep the moisture so I soaked the sultanas to help keep the pudding moist.

As you can see from the top photograph, I have served my bread and butter pudding with custard but you can serve it with Crème Fraîche or even vanilla ice cream.

This is my last post before the New Year so let me take this opportunity to wish all of my readers a very Happy New Year!

Brioche Bread and Butter Pudding © Kevin Ashton 2022

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25 thoughts on “Brioche Bread & Butter Pudding”

    1. Traditionally, bread and butter pudding calls for sultanas, but raisins will work just as well.

      Let me me take a moment to thank you for your continued support and wish you a very Happy New Year.
      Best Wishes
      Kevin

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  7. Dear Kevin
    Happy 2023! Hope you had a wonderful celebration with yours.
    Wow! Looks amazing and delicious! Great idea for a good dessert.
    Love the idea to use the empy vinilla pod to add at the sugar jar.
    Have a lovely first week of this year.
    Thank’s.
    Elvira

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  8. Thanks for sharing the brioche recipe. I’ve made a similar “Overnight Baked French Toast” and served it with a cardamon blueberry sauce.

    It feeds a lot of people and is great when on a retreat with friends or vacationing with relatives.

    How’s Covid been in UK? There has been an uptick of cases here in California plus many Pneumonia and RSV cases which clog the hospital emergency rooms and ICU units.

    I’m a little under the weather at the moment. It’s not terrible or anything, but definitely slowing me down in the kitchen.

    Happy New Year to you and Yours
    Teri

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    1. There has been an slight uptick in the number of Covid and UK are on the lookout for sub-variant XBB.1.5 which is causing concern on the West Coast of the US.

      It’s inevitable after the holidays and so many people traveling that Co-vid cases go up.

      For myself I try to be careful and still wear a mask and santise my hands and basket when food shopping and mask up on public transport. Since Covid first started I only had it once (last September) after my trip to Dublin. I’ve had every jab and boaster that has been offered to me. But there is an element of luck involved to.
      Hope you feel better soon , Best Wishes Kevin

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