What’s better than bread and butter pudding? BRIOCHE and butter pudding, naturally.

There is something wonderfully simple about the humble bread and butter pudding. Stale bread (or in this case brioche) is buttered and soaked in a custardy base, peppered with lemon zest, currants and almonds and baked until crunchy, custardy and utterly delicious.      

BRIOCHE & BUTTER PUDDING

Serves 6

• 250ml cream
• 250ml milk
• 75g (¼) cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 9 slices brioche (about 275g), cut in half into triangles
• 50g butter, softened (plus extra for greasing)
• zest of 2 lemons
• 35g (¼ cup) currants
• 3 eggs
• 30g (¼ cup flaked almonds
• icing sugar to dust (optional)

Grease an oven-proof dish with butter and preheat the oven to 180°C. 

Pour the cream and milk into a bowl, sprinkle the sugar over and add the vanilla before whisking and setting aside.

Butter the brioche and arrange in overlapping rows in the dish. Sprinkle the lemon zest and currants over the brioche, then pour the milk/cream mixture over and leave to sit for half an hour.  As mine sat I tilted the dish from time to time to make sure all the brioche was soaking up the mixture. I also pushed the bread down to make sure it was lying more horizontally than vertically. 

Scatter with the almonds before putting in the oven and baking for 30 minutes or until set. Serve, dusted with icing sugar, if you like, with cream, yoghurt or ice cream.