Lemon & White Chocolate Bread & Butter Pudding with Cardamom
A bread & butter pudding is true comfort food, and this pudding is rich and custardy with zesty lemon curd and creamy white chocolate for a summery twist. A hint of cardamom adds a delightful warmth and cosiness. I like to serve with fresh blueberries – their perfumed tartness adds a lovely burst of vibrance to the rich pudding and aromatic cardamom.
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/160 fan/Gas 4. Lightly butter a 1.5l baking dish (approx. 30-20cm).
Spread the brioche slices very lightly with butter (be more generous with white bread) and then a good layer of lemon curd. Cut each slice into 4 triangles. Layer half into the base of the greased ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over half the chocolate. Top with the remaining bread triangles buttered side up, overlapping and leaning against each other. Scatter over the remaining chocolate chips.
Put the cream, milk, vanilla, bashed cardamom pods and the pared zest in a saucepan and slowly bring to a simmer, but do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and allow to infuse for a couple of minutes. Put the eggs and caster sugar in a large bowl and whisk together until well combined and slightly pale and fluffy. Strain the cream through a sieve into a jug, then slowly pour the warm milk over the eggs, whisking constantly to combine. Stir in the lemon zest and the ground cardamom. Pour over the bread, making sure everything is moistened, and leave to absorb for 15-20 minutes if using brioche (30 minutes for white bread).
Sprinkle the top of the pudding with demerara sugar. Put the dish into a roasting tin and pour enough hot water into the tin to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Cook in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the top is crisp and golden and the custard is set. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes, before serving with cream/crème fraiche, fresh blueberries and a mint garnish.
Ingredients
- 8-10 thick slices of brioche loaf (or white bread), slightly stale is best
- 40g unsalted butter, room temp, plus extra to grease
- 120g good quality lemon curd
- 3 large eggs, plus 2 extra yolks
- 70g caster sugar
- 300ml double cream
- 300ml full-fat milk
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 5 cardamom pods, 3 bashed, seeds of 2 finely ground in a pestle & mortar
- 2 lemons, pared zest of 1, fine zest of 1
- 100g white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
- 2 tbsp demerara sugar
- crème fraiche or pouring cream, to serve
- fresh blueberries and small mint sprigs, to serve (optional)