Apart from berries and cevapci sausages there is something else that’s clogging my freezer.
Bread. And lots of it. There’s the skinny little rye bread that’s great with hummus and eggplant salsa and a little rocket on top, or else toasted just with avocado, lemon, salt and pepper and a weak earl grey tea with a splash of milk ( ask the Hungry One how to make it, he makes the best tea in the world, one of many reason’s why we’re getting married next year…).
There’s the soy and linseed from Sonoma bread company that comes with the real soy beans in it. I love it so much that I don’t mind that I have to slice it myself and risk injury. With bread that fun I feel s it’s almost a travesty to put anything except butter on it.
Then there’s a variety of products from Bakers Delight- most notably of the cape seed variety.
We occasionally get these for free and everything always tastes better when it’s free- though I do think this is the best Bakers Delight bread around. It comes from Hornsby, where one of the Hungry One’s best friends became the proud owner of a bakery and an hilarious little boy ( with a love of bread himself) all in the course of one year. Between the bakers hours and the baby, I don’t think there’s a lot of sleep that happens up in Hornsby.
But we had a loaf of the Cape seed fruit and nut in the freezer. It’s great- dried fruit way beyond the usual sultanas in fruit loaf- there’s dried apple, date, pear, peach, pineapple and papaya. That’s a whole lotta dried fruit.
It was Sunday night and there was the choice of doing some work or doing some cooking. When push comes to shove I think I know which I’ll choose most times.
So when you need some comfort because the weekend is coming to a close, there’s nothing quite as soothing as bread and butter pudding.
Cape seed Bread and Butter pudding.
Take the loaf of cape seed fruit and nut that you have to take out of the freezer to make room for the bulk braises you made last week.
Defrost about 10 slices.
Take a round bowl, or a square corningware container, about 20 cm by 20cm is my perfect “feeds 4” container (2 tonight and 2 for the Hungry One’s dessert during the week – assuming he’s spent some time communing with the spin bike….)
Melt 40 grams of unsalted butter.
Mix 3 eggs, 130 ml of cream 130 ml of milk, a tablespoon of vanilla essence, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice all together.
Cut each slice of bread into half or quarters. I like to do it so the bread becomes triangles, then the corners get crunchy, poking out the top like little shark fins. Sharks in a sea of pudding. or something like that.
Brush the bread with melted butter and layer it into the container, layer upon layer upon layer.
If you want to be a bit outlandish, break up 2 squares of dark dark chocolate into little pieces and hide the nuggets in and around the bread.
Pour half of the egg/milk mixture over the bread. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Let it sit for about 15 minutes. Push the bread down to mop up the goodness. Pour the rest of the mixture over the top and around the sides.
Let it sit for another 10 minutes.
Bake it for about half an hour to 40 minutes. Don’t let the shark corners of crust burn. Turn the oven off and leave it in there for 15 minutes.
Take it out- the custard should have set. Serve hot with chocolate ice cream, if you’re feeling particularly outrageous. Some Sunday evenings just need a bit of outrageous-ness, if only to make Monday more palatable.