LEFTOVER HOT CROSS BUN PUDDING
Remove most of the crusts. Generously butter your bread and cut into squares.
Butter a heatproof dish and drop half of your bread pieces into the dish.
Add fruit of your choice – I added peaches into this one, but I have also been known to add a can of drained fruit salad, chocolate chips or berries. It all depends on what you feel like on the day and what you have in the pantry.
Sprinkle with sugar – again, be generous – this is a dessert.
I felt like cinnamon sugar today because I was using the Hot Cross Buns, but you can use white or brown or vanilla sugar if that is what you like.
Now drop the other half of the bread pieces to cover the fruity bits. Sprinkle some more sugar.
I decided that 6 eggs would do the trick, so I separated 4 eggs , keeping the whites separate and added the other 2 eggs to the 4 separated yolks.
Then I added enough milk to the eggs to cover the bread – I think it was about 2 cups or so.
Pour over the bread and then drop little bits of butter all over the place.
I covered it with Happy Plastic (Glad) and then I let it stand for a few hours.
This allows the bread to properly soak up the milk and just makes a nicer pudding – That’s what I think.
About an hour before dinner I baked it at 180 Degrees Celsius for about 45 minutes to an hour or until it is golden brown and cooked through.
Whip the egg whites until stiff and add Castor Sugar to taste.
Because I had peaches in this pudding, I covered the top with Peach Jam before covering it with the whipped egg whites.
Of course if you used berries I would go with strawberry or berry jam and with chocolate chips you can use anything you like.
Now put the pudding back in the oven and allow the egg whites to brown.
Remove and serve with custard or cream.
Remember that your pudding will “collapse” a little bit, so don’t panic when that happens – it is supposed to.
Recipe and photo: Annatjie Heydenrich
