Bread and Butter Pudding

As a child my mother made bread and butter pudding regularly. Probably to use up the stale bread. I hated this pudding with its soggy bread and jam and was at a loss to understand how anyone could enjoy it.
Later in life I decided to give it a go myself and am not sure where the inspiration for this recipe came from. I did go through a" French stage" and bought brioche all the time. Maybe the brioche inspired me, being sweeter than bread and a different texture. I now love this pudding.

The weather has turned chilly again as it usually does at this time of year. Perfect for pudding !


100 grams pitted prunes chopped in half
2 tablespoons whiskey
4 eggs
240 grams castor sugar
600 mls milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
300 grams brioche preferably a little stale
50 grams butter

Whiskey Sauce

50 grams brown sugar
50 mls whiskey
50 grams butter
50 mls of cream
nutmeg freshly grated or ground
thickened cream to serve

Soak the prunes in the whiskey, for several hours.
Combine eggs and sugar beating well.
Heat the milk and whisk into the egg sugar mixture and add the cinnamon and nutmeg.
Break the brioche into large chunks.
Grease an ovenproof souffle dish about 1.5 litres or 6 cup capacity.
Place alternative layers of the brioche and prunes in the dish. Top with small pieces of the butter.
Pour the custard mixture over the brioche to fill the dish and bake at 180C for 30-40 minutes until firm.

For the sauce in
Dissolve the brown sugar in the whiskey over a low heat. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and cream. This can easily be doubled for extra sauce.
Serve pudding topped with a little of the sauce, a sprinkling of nutmeg, cream and extra soaked prunes if you desire.