This is a great way to use up stale bread rather than wasting it. Not only that, but made correctly, the pudding tastes so good. Full of dried fruits and some mixed spice it makes a perfect dessert. The recipe used mixed dried fruits and extra chopped mixed peel. You can easily adapt it, though, to incorporate other dried fruit too. When you combine the bread, fruit and spices with sugar and wet ingredients you have a soggy mass. That mass transforms into a rich, dense and very tasty pudding in the oven.
This pudding is one that I fondly remember from my childhood. It was always so tasty and very filling indeed. With custard as an accompaniment it never fails to satisfy the appetite. But is it great too just as a snack.
500g(1 lb 2oz) bread, torn into small pieces
500g(1lb 2oz – about 4 cups) mixed dried fruit
85g(2/3 cup) chopped mixed peel
5g(1 1/2 tsp) mixed spice
600ml(2 1/2 cups minus 4 tbsp) milk
150g(3/4 cup) light brown sugar
100g(7 tbsp)melted butter
2 medium eggs(large in USA)
zest from 1 lemon
3g(1/2 tsp) salt
25g(2 tbsp) Demerara sugar
Place the bread into a large bowl.
Add the mixed dried fruit, the chopped mixed peel, mixed spice and lemon zest and mix to combine.
Pour in the milk and use your hands to squeeze everything into a combined mush.
Leave the mixture to sit of 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350f and grease, or line, an 8 inch square cake tin.
Beat the eggs and sugar together and pour it over the bread mixture and mix until fully incorporated.
Pour in the melted butter and again stir to combine.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and spread it out to level it over the base.
Sprinkle demerara sugar over the top.
Bake the pudding in the oven for 90 minutes.
Remove the pudding from the oven and leave in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
Cut the bread pudding into squares and serve while still warm.
The bread can be any variety you wish. It can be fresh, but the recipe is a great way to use up stale bread. The mixed dried fruit is a combination of sultanas, raisins, currants and mixed citrus peel. But including other dried fruits, such as dried apricots, cranberries etc also works well. Basically whatever dried fruits you have available will be fine. In addition more chopped mixed peel is used.
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