1/2 pt Whole milk
8 tb Vanilla sugar
8 Egg yolks
1/2 pt Single cream
3 tb Orange marmalade
A dash of whisky
A handful of raisins
1 Loaf sliced white bread;
-crusts cut off
8 oz Unsalted butter; melted
1/2 lb Apricot jam
Start the custard by bringing the milk to the boil, then dissolving
in it 6 tablespoons of the vanilla sugar. If you do not have vanilla
sugar use caster sugar and add 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence. Set
aside.
Whisk the egg yolks into the single cream with the marmalade and the
whisky, and add this mix to the boiled milk, whisking vigorously
together.
Grease the inside of a large oval gratin dish with a little of the
butter and sprinkle half the raisins over the bottom. Now cut the
slices of bread into triangular quarters, and dip one side of the
bread into the melted butter. Make a layer of triangles of buttered
bread inside the dish, propping each one up against each other so
they are leaning slightly at an angle. Now sprinkle the remaining
raisins over the layer and arrange another layer of butter dipped
bread going the other way. Finish off with a third layer of bread,
again arranged in the opposite direction. Pour the custard mix over
slowly, ensuring that each piece is soaked, and rest the pudding for
15 minutes.
Sprinkle over the remaining vanilla sugar and bake in a medium hot
oven (180C/350F/gas 4) for about 30-35 minutes. The position in the
oven can be crucial if you don’t have a fan oven. The top of the
pudding should be golden brown, with the bread crisp in parts.
Conversely, the inner texture should be moist, soft and light, like a
souffl, but not runny.
Finally, when the pudding is taken out, brush the surface with warmed
apricot jam to give it a good shine.
Yields
1 servings