Butterscotch Bread and Butter Pudding

A bread and butter pudding is a great dessert for a cold winter day. This one has bread layers in a vanilla custard with raisins and homemade butterscotch pieces, served with butterscotch sauce.

The bread to custard ratio was absolutely perfect, and far better than my last bread and butter pudding attempt. This made it moist and creamy with a contrasting crunchy top. The butterscotch adds a moreish sweetness to the pudding with the little pockets of toffee-like flavour where they melted into the custard. The addition of the sauce makes it even more indulgent and absolutely delicious.

Recipe - Serves 6

For the butterscotch:

• 70g caster sugar
• 20ml water
• 10g butter
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch salt

For the custard and pudding:

• 40g butter, softened
• 6-8 sliced bread, crusts removed
• 3 eggs
• 350ml full fat milk
• 70ml double cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 40g caster sugar
• 30g raisins

For the butterscotch sauce:

• 30g butter
• 75g light brown sugar
• 75g golden syrup
• 80ml double cream

Start by making the butterscotch. Combine the water and sugar in a pan over a medium heat and stir to dissolved. Add the cream of tartar, mix in, and boil until it reaches 115C on a sugar thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter. Beat in well then return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, to 138C or the soft crack stage is reached.

Immediately take the pan back off the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Pour into a 1lb loaf tin lined with baking paper and leave for a few minutes to cool a little. Use a sharp knife to mark into squares then leave to cool completely.

Next, heat the milk, vanilla extract and cream in a pan over a medium heat until just simmering. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugar together lightly to combined and slightly paler. Pour over the milk mixture slowly whilst whisking. Leave for 10 minutes to settle.

Butter each of the bread slices on both sides and cut 6 triangles from them to arrange in a line on top of the pudding. Cut the rest so they will create two layers in the dish. 

Strain the custard through a sieve into a jug and spoon a little into the base of a large oven proof serving dish. Arrange one layer of the buttered bread slices on top, covering the base completely. Break up the butterscotch pieces and sprinkle half over the bread, followed by half the raisins. Repeat with the second layer of bread and the rest of the butterscotch and raisins. Finally, lay the bread triangles down the centre of the dish.

Pour three quarters of the remaining custard over the pudding and press the bread down so it is covered. Leave to soak for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven at 170C.

Spoon the rest of the custard over the pudding and bake for 25-30 minutes until set and crisp on top. 

Whilst the pudding is baking, make the butterscotch sauce. Put the butter, sugar, golden syrup and cream in a pan over a medium heat and stir to dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil, then remove immediately and set aside until needed. 

Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving warm drizzled with butterscotch sauce, reheated prior to serving if needed.