Bread & Butter Pudding

There are a number of variations you can make to this classic dessert depending on your tastes.  I will show the standard recipe first and then give a few ideas of how you can change it.
For one or two people I would suggest halving the amounts shown - except for the eggs - just use two.

• 50g dried fruit - your choice - currants, sultanas, raisins or a mix of all three.
• 300mls whole or semi-skimmed milk or 200mls milk and 100mls double cream
• 1 tsp vanilla essence - optional
• approx 75g butter (you can use spread but butter really is preferable if you can afford it)
• 8 slices of slightly stale white bread, cut into triangles.  If it isn't already stale leave it out for a few hours.
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons sugar

1. Put the milk into a pan with the vanilla essence and heat to just below boiling point then allow to cool
2. Butter the bread and the dish
3. Arrange half of the slices of bread in overlapping rows in the dish and sprinkle half the fruit over the top
4. Beat the eggs with the sugar until well mixed, then beat the milk (and cream) into the mixture
5. Pour half the mixture over the bread and leave to soak in for around 20 minutes
6. Preheat the oven to 180ºC  gas mark 5
7. Arrange the other half of the bread and fruit over the top and drizzle over the remainder of the egg custard mixture. 
8. Place the dish in a roasting tin and half fill the tin with water to create a bain marie then place in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes until golden brown.
9. When ready remove from oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

As an alternative to the usual fruit based bread and butter pudding you can add marmalade to the bread (also known as Osborne pudding), alternatively you could use jam or even chocolate spread.  A favourite with us is to spread the bread with butter and a caramel spread which we buy in France although we have occasionally found it in England.  In France it is called Confiture du lait (which translates as "milk jam") although I can't remember what the English label says,   it does clearly say it is caramel, and is made by Bonne Maman.