Decadent Mothers Day Pudding with M&S

So the wonderful people at Marks and Spencer set me the challenge of creating a decadent slant on a traditional treat - Bread and Butter Pudding, which is a world away from my normal wholewheat low sugar (and usual vegan) creations but I though I would throw caution to the wind and create something really indulgent - I mean Mothers day only happens once a year. The first point of call was using a more indulgent base - so instead of just normal white bread I went for Brioche - a lovely slightly sweet french style loaf paired with some lovely Turkish Sultanas and deep dark chocolate.

Now for this recipe I just couldn't help but lower the amount of milk and double cream - by adding water as a third ingredient and it worked really well, leaving a still very creamy pudding but slightly less heavy.

So here is what you need

6-8 Brioche Bread Rolls sliced into 3 length ways
Around 3 tbsp Good Quality Orange Marmalade
75g Sultanas
100g Good Quality chopped Dark Chocolate
4 medium Free-Range Eggs
200ml Semi-Skimmed Milk or Soya Milk
150ml Double Cream
250ml Water
Grated Zest of 1 large orange
Icing sugar for dusting
Butter or Olive Oil for greasing

So let's get started

1. Preheat the Oven to 170c (150c for Fan assisted ovens) or Gas Mark 3. Grease a 2 litter Oven proof dish

2. Spread the Brioche slices with Marmalade and layer the slices on top of each other in the dish while liberally sprinkling the sultanas and chopping chocolate on the Brioche

3. Whisk the eggs in a bowl until pale and fluffy

4. Meanwhile heat the Milk, Cream, Water and Orange Zest in a heavy based pan until just scalding. Leave to cool for a little while before adding to the egg mixture.

5. Slowly pour the egg custard over the Brioche slices and leave to stand for at least 20min while the bread soaks in the mixture. Bake for 25-30 min, it should no longer be runny. Dust with icing sugar. Leave to cool and serve warm (not hot). You could also top it with custard if you like.

I was really happy with the outcome - a lovely creamy indulgent bread and butter pudding that went down well with everyone in the family. For me, coming from South Africa it's really something different from what I normally make. The quality of the ingredients from Marks and Spencer gave the dish some real depth as the orange zest and dark chocolate shone through.

Brioche always reminds me of my time living in the South of France - the smell of the bakeries on every corner - eating el fresco with friends each day, on a long table just like the one below - would be wonderful to do that with the family one year for mothers day - lots of salad, nibbles and a comforting pudding.

I was kindly provided with the ingredients from Marks and Spencer to put together this recipe