Bread and Butter Pudding with Sultanas and Cinnamon Recipe
This classic Bread and Butter Pudding is a comforting dessert featuring slightly stale white bread soaked in a rich egg, milk, and cream mixture with sultanas, baked until golden and custardy. Finished with melted butter and icing sugar, it can be served with ice cream, custard, or cream for a deliciously warm treat.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
- Total Time: 35-40 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British
Ingredients
Bread and Fruit
- 8 heaped cups white bread, preferably slightly stale, cut into 2.5 cm / 1″ cubes (or 12 thick-cut or 14 normal pre-sliced sandwich bread slices, cut in half into triangles)
- 1 cup sultanas or raisins
Egg Mixture
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups milk (low or full fat, not zero fat)
- 1 cup heavy / thickened cream (or substitute with more milk, see notes)
- 3 tbsp / 40g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Finishes / Serving
- 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted – for drizzling before baking
- 20g / 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted – for brushing after baking (optional)
- Icing sugar / powdered sugar, for dusting
- Ice cream, cream, custard, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, or toppings of choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F (suitable for all oven types) to prepare for baking the pudding.
- Prepare egg mixture: In a large bowl, whisk the eggs briefly. Add milk, cream, melted butter (cooled), sugar, cinnamon powder, and vanilla extract. Whisk thoroughly until combined.
- Soak the bread: Add the bread cubes and sultanas to the egg mixture and gently mix to coat. Set aside for 3 minutes to allow the bread to soak up the mixture.
- Transfer to baking dish: Pour the soaked bread mixture into a 10 cup (2.5 litre) baking dish. If many sultanas remain on the surface, gently poke them below the surface to prevent over-browning.
- Drizzle butter and bake: Drizzle the 2 tablespoons of melted butter evenly over the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the inside is set but slightly wobbly when poked.
- Finish and serve: Optionally brush the top with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter to enhance the buttery flavor and gloss. Dust with icing sugar. Let rest for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy immediately with your choice of ice cream, custard, cream, or sauces.
Notes
- Any bread can be used, including raisin bread, brioche, or hot cross buns. Avoid very dry or extremely stale artisan breads with thick crusts as they may not soak well.
- Gluten free bread works well if desired, just choose a quality gluten free loaf.
- For a milk-only mixture, increase eggs to 4 and use 2 1/2 cups of milk, omitting cream to ensure proper setting.
- Poking sultanas below the surface prevents them from burning during baking.
- Brushing the pudding with butter before and after baking adds a richer, golden crust and buttery flavor.
- Leftovers keep well refrigerated for 4 to 5 days. Reheat gently; texture and crunchy topping remain excellent.
- Freezing is likely possible but has not been tested by the author.
- For pre-sliced bread, layering slices with sultanas and pouring egg mixture over yields a slightly different texture but is excellent.
