serves
6
prep
10 minutes
cook
45 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
6
people
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
45
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 160 g (about 1 cup) sultanas, raisins or currants (I like a mix)
- 60 ml (¼ cup) Cointreau or Grand Marnier
- 50 g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra, to grease
- 250 g (about ½ loaf) rustic white bread, cut into 1½ cm slices
- 170 g (¼ cup) good-quality Seville or cumquat marmalade
Custard
- 8 eggs
- 500 ml (2 cups) milk
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 220 g (1 cup) caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra, to sprinkle
Soaking time 2 hours 10 minutes
You will need a 2 L casserole pan or similar for this recipe.
Instructions
Toss the dried fruit with the Cointreau or Grand Marnier and allow to stand, ideally for a few hours or even overnight.
Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a 2 L casserole dish.
Butter each slice of bread generously, smearing every second one with marmalade and lay over base of prepared casserole pan, overlapping a little as you go. When you have one layer, sprinkle over some dried soaked fruit, then continue layering until you’ve used all the bread and dried soaked fruit. I put the crust-side up when it overlaps, so it pokes up and bakes crisp, but it doesn’t really matter.
To make the custard, place the eggs, milk, vanilla essence and sugar together in a bowl, whisking to combine.
Pour the custard over the bread until all of the bread is moistened. You want to have the bread wet, but not so wet that it’s soupy. Allow to stand for 10 minutes to soak up custard. The ideal level of custard after a few minutes is just below the top of the bread. Sprinkle with extra sugar and bake for 45 minutes or until the custard has firmed right to the centre. Serve pudding warm or at room temperature.
Photography Alan Benson
As seen in Feast magazine, October 2013, Issue 25.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
