Bread and butter

Another day of gusts of wind that did not encourage me to linger outside. So I made a bit more effort for lunch. We had "risoniotto" ("risotto" made with rice-shaped pasta) and I used the remains of the fruit loaf to make bread and butter pudding.

Jay Rayner, the restaurant critic of the Guardian, has been doing a series about classic cookbooks, in lieu of reviewing restaurants. Early on, he reviewed Gary Rhodes' New British Classics, which was published in 1999. I knew about Rhodes -- he was a real celebrity then -- but never had any of his books. Probably because I generally avoid books by restaurant chefs. But I was tempted by Jay's words and the enthusiastic comments ... the book is long out of print, but with some difficulty I eventually managed to obtain a second-hand copy for considerably less than the 60 quid or so quoted on some sites.

So although I know perfectly well how to make B&B pudding, I decided to try his recipe. I think it's a trademark of his style: he takes a standard family recipe and turns it into something refined. I think it's the best B&B pudding I've ever made, creamy on the inside and crispy on top, with custard that is silky smooth because it's made with only egg yolks. Delicious, and there is some left for later. Here's the recipe, cut down from his massive one.

6 medium slices of white bread or brioche
25 g unsalted butter, softened
4 egg yolks
70 g caster sugar plus a bit extra for sprinkling
1 vanilla pod or a few drops of vanilla essence
150 ml milk
150 ml cream
30 g dried fruit (sultanas/raisins)

Butter a suitably sized dish. Butter the bread and cut each slice into four triangles. Cut the crusts off first if you want; I didn't. Whisk the egg yolks and 70 g sugar in a bowl. Meanwhile heat the milk and cream with the split vanilla pod or the vanilla essence. Pour the simmering milk through a sieve onto the yolks, stirring all the time.

Arrange the bread in the dish, sprinkling dried fruit between the layers. Don't put any on the top layer because it will burn. Then pour over the warm custard. Leave to stand for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 180C.

Put the dish in a roasting tin and fill the tin halfway up with boiling water. Cover the dish with buttered foil and bake for 20-30 minutes until the custard is just set. Remove the foil and sprinkle the pudding liberally with caster sugar, then grill until the sugar has caramelised and the bread has browned at the edges. Leave to stand for five minutes, then eat!