Old Fashioned English Bread Pudding
Its name certainly doesn't do it justice, as bread pudding neither tastes like bread nor would I class it as a pudding! It's more like a sweet, dense fruit cake. It is delicious served with a cuppa and also makes a fantastic energy-boosting snack for hikes and bike rides. It's super filling, so be sure to cut those squares a modest size!
Ingredients
- 500 g / 17½ oz wholemeal (whole wheat) bread
- 600 ml / 2½ cups soya milk
- 1 TBSP mixed spice
- ½ TBSP ground cinnamon (or more mixed spice)
- 500 g / 3½ cups mixed dried fruit e.g. sultanas, raisins, candied citrus peel
- zest of 1 unwaxed/organic lemon
- zest of 1 unwaxed/organic orange
- 50 ml / ¼ cup neutral-flavoured oil (I use organic rapeseed (canola) oil)
- 100 g / ½ cup unrefined ('golden') caster sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 TBSP Demerara or turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Crumble the bread into a large mixing bowl. Pour in the milk and continue crumbling the bread until it has completely broken down. Stir in the mixed spice, cinnamon and dried fruits. Set aside for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) / 350F. Grease and line a 20cm / 8 inch square baking tin with non-stick baking paper. Leave some paper overhanging the edges for easy removal.
- Add the citrus zest, oil and sugar to the mixing bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined, then tip into the prepared tin. Press down and level with a spatula. Sprinkle the Demerara sugar evenly on top. Bake for 1½ hours, or until a skewer inserted through the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool completely, then remove from the tin and slice.
- Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, the bread pudding will keep for a week. It also freezes well.