Bread and Butter Pudding

I suppose the irony of this blog is in the title, "Guest Chef in the Kitchen" alluding to the fact that the cookbook that I am featuring has a popular or established chef behind it.  Truth be told, one of my most favorite cookbooks, and the one that is highlighted this month, has no popularity at all.  In fact, there is a single page in the back of the book with a list of credits for each recipe.  For the 19 names that are listed there I do not recognize a single one of them.  Makes no difference to me because the food looks and tastes fantastic!


This first book, Easy Everyday is a true gem and I once spotted it for sale in the Le Creuset store.  I've made many recipes out of this book with not one failure.  I've also shared some of the recipes from this book with another wonderful food blog, Dinner du Jour, highlighting dishes such as Rigatoni with Pork and Lemon Ragu, and Chicken and Bacon Pot.  


Yesterday my mother handed me a bag of stale croissants.  They were the picture-perfect kind with the delicate butter flavor too good to just throw in the compost.  So what do restaurants do with stale bread?  Bread pudding!  So despite the 90 degree weather plaguing the area, I turned on the oven to produce a finished product in less than 40 minutes.  Beautifully-crusted, golden-brown comfort food--enjoyable even in the heat of the summer sun.  (Did I mention that the kids loved it as well!)

Bread and Butter Pudding
adapted from Easy Everyday: Simple Recipes for No-fuss Food
Serves 4


1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
6 slices of brioche bread, or 3 large croissants, chopped into bite-sized chunks
1/3 cup golden raisins
freshly ground nutmeg or cinnamon/sugar combo to sprinkle on top
4-6 ramekins (depending on their size), well greased


Preheat oven to 350°F


Put the milk, cream, vanilla extract, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar into a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves.


Put the eggs into a bowl and beat well.  Stir in 2-4 tablespoons of the hot milk mixture to warm the eggs, then stir in the remainder of the hot milk.  You should have a custard-like mixture.


Lightly toast the bread and divide between the prepared ramekins and sprinkle with the raisins.


Pour in the custard, grate a little nutmeg (or cinnamon/sugar) over the top, then sprinkle with remaining sugar.  Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until firm.  Let cool a little, but serve warm.