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Here's the thing, I don't typically like puddings with bread in them. Summer Pudding for example, the thought of it makes me shudder - too many memories of cold soggy bread with the sourest fruits imaginable. Bread and butter pudding made traditionally with normal bread and marmalade? You can keep it. I would rather have an apple (and that's saying a lot - I love desserts!), but Bread and Butter Pudding given a slightly French twist with Brioche and made with cherry jam and plenty of vanilla in the cream? That's a whole different matter...
This pudding is so quick to put together, and if you are making it for a gang of people you can double the recipe (who knows, dinner parties might happen again one day!). You can make it ahead too, just make it to sandwiches arranged in the dish stage then pour the cream and eggs over just before you chuck it in the oven.
If you don't like cherries particularly, the choice of jam is completely up to you, but I like it as the tartness of the cherries cuts through the sweetness...
Ingredients - Serves 4-6
One large brioche loaf;
A jar of good quality cherry jam;
Softened butter;
150mls Single Cream;
150mls whole milk;
1 heaped tablespoon caster sugar;
1 vanilla pod;
2 large eggs.
Icing sugar & cream to serve
Preheat the oven to 180c, and butter a pie dish (the one in the picture is 25cm).
Slice the loaf thickly, then butter each slice and spread generously with cherry jam. Cut each sandwich into four triangles and arrange as neatly as you can into the dish (or not, it will still taste the same whatever it looks like)...
Beat the cream, sugar, eggs together with the scraped contents of the vanilla pod in a jug, and pour over the brioche.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with cream. Or ice-cream. Or custard (or all three!)... Equally good cold the next day, trust me...
You can thank me later...