Bread and Butter Pudding: Classic English Custard-Soaked Bake with Cinnamon and Raisins

Soak the raisins in the brandy or orange juice for 20 minutes while you prepare everything else. Butter a 9-by-9-inch baking dish.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 8 slices day-old white bread or brioche, crusts on
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the dish
• 1/2 cup raisins or sultanas
• 2 tbsp brandy or orange juice, for soaking the raisins
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tbsp for the top
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 2 tbsp apricot jam, warmed, for glazing
• Custard or vanilla ice cream, for serving

Instructions

1. Soak the raisins in the brandy or orange juice for 20 minutes while you prepare everything else. Butter a 9-by-9-inch baking dish.
2. Butter each bread slice generously on one side and cut into triangles.
3. Arrange the triangles in the dish in overlapping rows, buttered side up, scattering the soaked raisins between the layers so they do not sit on top and burn.
4. Warm the milk and cream in a saucepan until steaming but not boiling.
5. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and orange zest. Slowly whisk in the hot milk mixture to make a custard.
6. Pour the custard evenly over the bread, pressing the slices gently so they soak it up. Let the pudding stand for 30 minutes so the bread absorbs the custard; this step is what makes it silky rather than dry.
7. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Sprinkle the top with the extra tablespoon of sugar.
8. Set the dish in a roasting pan and pour in hot water to come halfway up the sides. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the custard is just set with a slight wobble in the center and the bread tips are golden and crisp.
9. Brush the hot top with warmed apricot jam for a glossy finish. Rest for 10 minutes, then serve warm with custard or ice cream.
10. Bread and butter pudding appears in English cookbooks as early as the 1720s, born of the thrift of turning stale bread into something luxurious with eggs and milk. It became a fixture of British school dinners and Sunday lunches, and the spiced, orange-scented version is what cooks reach for once the autumn nights draw in. Served warm on a chilly late-October evening, it is the kind of nursery pudding that quietly outlasts every dessert trend.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 480 kcal
• Protein: 11g
• Fat: 27g
• Carbohydrates: 50g
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 31g
• Sodium: 320mg