Hortus Deliciarum

Baguette and butter pudding…my comfort food of the day. Recipe is originally Gordon Ramsay’s, but I’ve added my alterations in italics.

- Serves 6 (so it says, anyway–mine serves four ;p )

-Butter, softened
-1/2 large baguette – mine uses a little less than this and I put it in an 8×2″ Pyrex casserole. If you’re doubling the recipe, you’re going to need the whole thing and a bigger casserole! I also hear brioche is nice to use, but haven’t tried it myself.
-60g raisins or dried cranberries or a mixture of both – I don’t do the “measure by weight” European thing yet, never having bought a kitchen scale. I sprinkle on a moderate number of raisins, namely, what looks good to me…add more if you like them, omit if you don’t.
-2 egg yolks – the original specifies large, but I use medium with no problem–free range is nicer than caged!
-2 eggs – Yes, you use eggs AND egg yolks. This should be your first hint that this is NOT the light version of bread pudding.
-scant 1/4 cup granulated sugar
-1-1/4 cups heavy/double/whipping cream
-1-1/4 cups milk – Recipe doesn’t specify. I use 2%, but some people like whole. Skim might work, but really, in a dish like this, why are you THINKING of using skim?!
-4T Baileys cream liqueur, or more to taste – Totally optional. We skip the Baileys, but I imagine some of you will douse the thing with it.
-demerara sugar – I have yet to see real demerara sugar in a “regular” American grocery store, but if you can find “raw” sugar that should work just fine. Otherwise somewhere like Central Market or Whole Foods might carry it. It’s large brown granules of sugar, like you’d use on creme brulée
-3T apricot jam – Again, optional. Graham doesn’t like it, so I’ve always skipped it, but I imagine it would taste yummy!

Use butter to grease a shallow ovenproof dish. Again, I always use my 8×2″ round Pyrex casserole, but if you’re using one that’s significantly larger, ponder doubling the whole recipe, or you might not end up with enough custard. Spread the bread slices *thinly* on both sides with butter. Arrange the bread in the dish in overlapping rows, sprinkling dried fruit over and between the layers as you go.

Beat the egg yolks, eggs, and sugar together until light and frothy, then add the cream, milk, and Baileys. Slowly pour the mixture over the bread/fruit.

Press the bread slices down until completely submerged in the custard. Leave to stand for 20 minutes for the bread to absorb the custard. The original recipe doesn’t mention that the bread floats. Keep pressing it down every few minutes to aid in the absorption process. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C/350F.

Stand the dish in a roasting tin/larger casserole and pour boiling water around the sides until it comes halfway up the side of the dish. Sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake for 40-50 minutes until golden. Shortly before the time is up, warm the apricot jam gently until runny.

Dab this glaze over the surface of the pudding and leave to stand (out of the bain marie) for 15 minutes before serving. The custard will continue to cook and firm during this time. Serve with some more Baileys trickled over if you like.