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.

Yorkshire Puddings, Pancakes,& Toad in the Hole & a Dessert

You can make as much or as little of this as you wish by altering the size of the cup you use.

• 1 cup of Plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup of eggs (crack enough eggs into the cup to fill it) 
• 1 cup of milk (either full fat or semi-skimmed but NOT skimmed - they need to have a little bit of fat in the milk and won't rise without it.)

• Place the flour into a large bowl along with the salt, add the eggs and milk and whisk with a balloon whisk until all the mixture is combined.  Set the bowl aside for an hour so that the liquid can absorb the flour properly.
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• Place a knob of vegetable fat or a little oil into each yorkshire pudding tin hole, or a larger knob into a large tin.  Place it into a very hot oven 200 - 220 deg Gas mark 7 or 8 if you have it, and leave until the fat/oil is giving off a slight haze.   Fill the holes with the batter, there should be a sizzling sound when you put the batter into the oil if it is hot enough. 
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• Place the tin in the hot oven for 15 - 20 minutes until the Yorkshire puddings are risen and golden brown.

It really is that easy!!

Pancakes


You use the same mixture to make pancakes, but because pancake batter needs to be a little thinner, add 1/3 to 1/2 a cup of water to the mix.  
Then:

• Heat about a teaspoon of oil in a frying pan until it is smoking hot,
• Quickly pour in a little of the batter and move the pan to roll the batter around the base of it.  
• When the bubbles have burst and the top looks dry carefully lift the pancake and turn it over in the pan, or if you are a show off you can try tossing it, but why risk losing your pancake.

Toad in the Hole

Grill or fry sausages of  your choice until they are cooked and brown.  Lay the sausages in an ovenproof dish and pour Yorkshire Pudding batter over them, then cook as for Yorkshire Pudding.

Obviously Roast beef is not going to be a regular feature of a student diet but yorkshire puddings go well with savoury mince or stew, and you can make up a batch of batter for one day and then keep some of it to make Toad in the Hole the following day.   Alternatively you can make up a whole batch of Yorkshire Puddings and when they have cooled, put them into a plastic box and put them in the freezer.  When you next need them pop the required number into a hot over for 2 or 3 minutes.

Yet another use for Yorkshire Pudding Batter - Dessert


Add a small amount of sugar to the mixture, icing sugar or caster sugar would be best but if you don't have it use granulated.


Butter a pie dish and either empty a can of fruit (with the liquid drained out of it) into it or use some sliced fresh soft fruit, cherries, berries or peaches etc.  Pour the batter over the top of it and put it in the oven at the same temperature 200- 220 deg. Gas mark 7/8 .  When it is risen and golden remove from the oven and dust with icing sugar.  This is a basic fruit clafoutis
You can serve it on its own or with pouring cream or a scoop of ice cream.