Eating Royally: Bread and Butter Pudding recipe
When Darren described this bread and butter pudding as a cross between bread pudding and creme brûlée, I knew I had to make this for the blog. This recipe comes from Darren McGrady’s cookbook, Eating Royally. who was Princess Diana’s personal chef. After tasting the recipe, I knew immediately I’m going to start caramelizing sugar on top of my bread puddings from now on. It was incredible! The creamy texture of the pudding was amazing with the crunchy layer of sugar on top.
This pudding was Princess Diana’s all-time favorite, so much so that she once had a royal reporter write that “Darren makes the best bread and butter pudding in the world.” Well, I am not sure it is the best in the world – but it’s up there! The final texture is a cross between a bread pudding and a creme brûlée.
EXCERPT FROM “EATING ROYALLY”, BY DARREN MCGRADY
The dish I have photographed above is actually a half recipe because I didn’t have a casserole dish large enough to hold all that bread. Even though I made a half recipe, it was plenty to feed up to four people. This recipe is fantastic and I hope you enjoy it!
Eating Royally: Bread and Butter Pudding
Ingredients
- 3 ounces raisins
- 1/4 cup amaretto
- 12 slices white bread crusts removed
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter melted
- 9 large` egg yolks
- 2 tsp vanilla paste
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar to dust the top of the pudding
- 3 ounces sliced almonds lightly toasted
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
Instructions
- Snack the raisins and amaretto in a bowl overnight or for 6-8 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Dice 4 slices of the bread into 1/2" pieces. Place the diced bread into the a casserole dish. Spread the soaked raisins and liquid onto the bread.
- Slice the rest of the bread into triangles by slicing it diagonally. You should end up with 4 triangles per slice of bread. Dip the triangles into the melted butter and arrange the bread on top of the raisons with the slices overlapping each other. Pour any remaining butter into the dish.
- Combine the cream and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the yolks, vanilla, and sugar until well combined. Once the milk comes to a simmer, temper the yolks can slowly streaming in the milk while whisking constantly.
- Pour the mixture over the bread in the casserole dish. Set the bread aside for 20 minutes to let the bread soak.
- Place the dish in a roasting tray. Fill the tray with hot water until it comes half way up the casserole dish. Bake for 30-45 minutes until the filling is just set.
- Sprinkle the top with granulated sugar. Place the dish until a broiler or torch the top to caramelize the sugar. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and powdered sugar. Serve warm.
