Bread & Butter Pudding . . . . The Sticky Date version!

As I have posted many, many times, I hate waste. The amount of food that gets thrown out by many homes is ridiculous. I'm not fantastic either, but i do try and use everything that I can (make stocks from roasts, or meringues with the eggwhites not needed for making ice-cream etc).

Its winter which makes it prime sticky date making time! I made one last weekend, but as it was just for one friend & I, there was quite a bit left over, which was clingwrapped & placed in the fridge. 

I am not a fan of regular bread & butter pudding, which is no doubt a hangover from school days, where it was insipid white bread soaked in batter & served as a steaming congealed mess. My Mum made a brilliant version though with some croissants that were a day or so old. 

Bread & butter pudding is traditionally made with sultanas. I didn't have any, but I did have some dates. You are meant to soak them in brandy, but I didn't have any, so I used the port instead.

So I thought . . .  . . what would a sticky date / bread & butter pudding be like? The answer: Freaking Awesome! This is one of the best puddings I have made this year!

85g dates, chopped

2 tbsp port, warmed

5 eggs

300ml pouring cream

300ml milk

40g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

8 x 1.5cm thick slices of white bread

(or old sticky pud, or croissants, or brioche)

Preheat the oven to 180'c. Soak dates in the port. 

Combine eggs, cream, milk, sugar, vanilla & cinnamon in a jug & whisk to combine. Butter an oven-proof dish, and lay the slices of whatever you are using in the dish, scatter over the dates & the port, then pour over the batter, and let stand for as long as you can (an hour is great) so that the slices absorb some of the batter. 

Scatter some sugar over the top, and then bake for 30-40 mins until golden. Serve with vanilla ice-cream or thick cream.