Bread and Butter Pudding

Bread and butter pudding yet another great British recipe and one that has stood the test of time. This one takes me back to my childhood and was probably one of the best things that my mum cooked. She made excellent Bread and butter puddings.

This is a very versatile dish and can be simple or exotic, you van use any number of added ingredients and fruits. Here however I am going for a traditional and straight forward doesn't come any better pudding!

You will need
Sliced Bread (At least a day old)
Butter
A cupful of Sultanas (and maybe a few more)(And a few more I just like eating Raisins....!)
Sticks of cinnamon
Pint of Full Cream Milk or half cream is even better
3 Eggs free range if possible
2 ounces of granulated sugar (1 Ounce if your tooth is not so sweet)

You will need a good sized ceramic or Pyrex baking dish.
and grease the bottom and sides with butter.

Take about 8 to 10 slices of medium to thinly sliced bread

Butter one side generously and slice the crust off sparingly.

Cut the slices into soldiers or triangles.

Arrange the bread in a layer at the bottom of the dish butter side up and then sprinkle raisins onto the bread. Now repeat and build up the layers until the bread is used up. No raisins on the top layer OK!

Gently warm the milk with the cinnamon sticks in a pan over a low heat to almost boiling point but do not let it boil.

Crack the eggs into a bowl, add three quarters of the sugar and whisk until the mix starts to pale and lightly froth.

Add to the egg and sugar mix your warm milk remembering to remove the cinnamon sticks and stir well.

Now pour the Custard through a strainer over the prepared bread layers and allow the bread to soak for at least 30 minutes

Preheat the oven to 180C/355F/Gas 4.

Place the dish into the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, you will notice a wonderful aroma filling your kitchen as the cooking process reaches the point of perfection. Remove from the oven when the top has browned and the edges of the bread in places have crisped.

Allow to stand before trying to serve.

Great as it is ....... To make it extra special add a dollop of clotted cream if you are lucky enough to be able to get it.