Bread and Butter Pudding Served with Clotted Cream and Compote of Apricots
Credit: Courtesy Fourth Estate
SERVES 4 – 6
Clotted cream is essential for this recipe, from Paul Heathcote's Rhubarb & Black Pudding: A Year in the Kitchen of Lanshire's Star Chef (Fourth Estate, 1998), by Matthew Fort.
FOR THE COMPOTE OF APRICOTS:
9 oz. dried apricots
1⁄2 vanilla pod
Zest of 1⁄2 orange
1⁄2 cinnamon stick
FOR THE PUDDING:
5 thin slices of white bread, cut on a diagonal
2 v4 oz. (5 tbsp.) butter, softened
3 1⁄2 oz. (2⁄3 cup) sultanas (golden raisins)
8 fl. oz. (1 cup) cream
8 fl. oz. (1 cup) milk
3 eggs
2 oz. (1⁄4 cup) sugar
1 vanilla pod
1 oz. (2 tbsp.) icing sugar (confectioners' sugar)
1 oz. (2 tbsp.) apricot jam
7 fl. oz. clotted cream
1. At least 2 hours ahead, make the compote of apricots: Bring 9 fl.oz. (about 1 cup) water to the boil and pour over the apricots in a heat-proof bowl. Leave to stand for about 30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, pour into a pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Leave to cool and remove the vanilla and cinnamon.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°. Butter the bread and remove the crusts. Place one layer of bread on the base of a 10" × 6" × 2 1/2" rectangular earthenware dish and cover with a layer of sultanas. Place the rest of the bread on top.
3. Mix the cream, milk, eggs, and sugar, and pass through a sieve. Slice the vanilla pod down the centre and scrape out the seeds. Add to the custard mixture and pour over the bread. Allow to soak for 5 minutes.
4. Place the dish in a bain-marie and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
5. Preheat a hot grill (broiler). Dust the pudding with icing sugar and glaze under the grill until golden (if it starts to soufflé, remove from the grill and let it cool a little longer before repeating the glazing process).
6. Spread the top with the apricot jam and serve cut into wedges, with a quenelle (three-sided oval) of clotted cream (mold it with 2 tablespoons) and the compote of apricots. Spoon some English custard (crème anglaise) around the plate, if you like.
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