Bread & Butter Pudding

Ingredients

300 ml milk

600 ml whipping cream

1 vanilla pods, split lengthways

5 eggs

190 g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

4 tbsp raisins, soaked in rum syrup

24 slices baguettes, part cooked

250 g butter, clarified

For the thick blueberry compote

2 punnet blueberries

200 g sugar

1 lemons, squeeze

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas 4. Warm the milk and cream with the split vanilla pod in a pan until lukewarm. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl.

2. Add the warm milk and cream to the egg and sugar mixture, whisking well. Set aside until lukewarm.

3. Put a tablespoon of raisins each into four ramekins. Then dip the slices of bread into the clarified butter and place 4 slices into each ramekin. They must be stood up next to each other not laid down.

4. Pour the cream mixture over the bread; it must be lukewarm not cold when poured. If cold, the butter will harden. Leave the bread to soak up the cream mixture, then add more mixture until the bread is very soft and gooey. Sprinkle over some caster sugar.

5. Place the ramekins in a deep roasting tray, pour hot water into the tray around the ramekins and bake until set, around 25-30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, make the compote. Put the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice into a pan On a gentle heat, allow berries to gently cook down releasing their juices. Simmer for at least 20 minutes until the fruit mix becomes richly thick. Keep warm.

7. Gently heat the leftover cream mixture over a low heat, stirring constantly, until it forms into a custard. Serve the puddings with the custard poured over and the thick, warm blueberry compote.