Last Updated on April 27, 2022
It’s Good Friday and I am sitting in the garden in the sunshine. This year Easter is quite late and it’s a balmy afternoon – one where I can’t think of anything less appealing than bread and butter pudding. But, as is always the case in the UK, the weather can turn very quickly and this easy dessert is perfect for a chilly spring Sunday lunch. Hot cross bun bread and butter pudding is also perfect when you find packs of yellow sticker Hot Cross Buns – marked down to half price or less. And, it’s relatively nutritious, with a custard base made with eggs, milk, cream and sugar.
Skip straight to my recipe for hot cross bread and butter pudding
These spiced buns made with fruit and marked with a cross on top have been eaten on Good Friday for centuries. There are various stories about the origin of the buns and they even appear in a nursery rhyme dating back to the 18th Century.
Hot Cross Buns
Hot Cross Buns
One a’ penny,
Two a’ penny.
Hot Cross Buns
If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons
One a’ penny,
Two a’ penny,
Hot Cross Buns!
Marking the end of Lent, the cross on top of the bun represents the crucifixion of Jesus and the spices are said to signify those used to embalm him.
While I love Hot Cross Buns hot from the oven and slathered in butter, this Hot Cross Bun Pudding, based on a classic English bread and butter pudding, is wonderful comfort food and very, very easy to make. I’m a firm believer in keeping the recipe simple and I don’t believe you need to add extra spices, marmalade, apricot jam or anything else. All those complicated recipes you’ll find from TV chefs like Heston and Jamie Oliver seem unnecessary to me since the buns themselves should be beautifully spiced. By all means, add a little vanilla sugar or citrus zest if you want to, but you don’t NEED to do so.
Far more important is good quality unsalted butter, the best buns you can find and enough resting time for the pudding to soak up the custard mix.
I’ve also never cooked the egg custard ahead of pouring it into the dish. I don’t do that with any version of bread and butter pudding (I make a version with brioche buns, with panettone and of course with regular sliced white).
The only other tip I’d give you is that mini buns (the sort you buy in the supermarket in packs of 9) are the perfect fuss-free way to make this hot cross bun bread and butter pudding. You do have to split them to butter them, but they don’t need to be halved or torn into bits. And, they can be arranged very beautifully with zero plating skills (perhaps that’s my stomach talking?). If you end up with full-sized buns, I recommend splitting them to butter, putting them back together and then cutting them in half across the ‘cross’ to make semi-circles that can be neatly arranged in your casserole.
Hot Cross Bun Bread and Butter Pudding
Equipment
- 1 ovenproof casserole
Ingredients
- 12 mini hot cross buns (or 6 full-sized ones)
- 50 grams butter
- 4 medium eggs
- 50 grams golden caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence (or for a more grown up version, 1 tablespoon of cointreau)
- 200 millilitres full cream milk if you are using semi-skimmed milk, then use 150ml milk to 250ml cream
- 200 millilitres double cream
Instructions
- Butter your ovenproof casserole. If you like you can dust it with caster sugar too for extra crunchy bits!
- Slice the buns in half and butter the cut sides. Sandwich back together gently
- If you are using full sized buns, cut in half across the 'cross' to make semi-circles
- Arrange the buns or half buns around your dish neatly, packing them reasonable close
- Put the remaining ingredients into a medium bowl and whisk till the eggs are completely mixed in.
- Pour the custard over the buns and cover with cling film.
- Put in the fridge to rest for an hour or more (you can s
- Preheat the oven to 160c (fan oven) or 170c (conventional)
- Bake the pudding for about 45 minutes until puffed up and golden brown.
Nutrition
Looking for something different? How about this traditional South African Malva Pudding
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