Nan's Bread Pudding

Written by McDonald, T.  |  Date 9th of September 2022

As a boy in the 70s and 80s, I used to love my bike, my pets, my Nan, and my Nan's cooking.  Obviously, I loved my parents and Pop too.  Whenever I was feeling down or if school was getting to be a bit much, my Nan would make the most amazing Bread pudding.  A chunk of the dark brown goodness more than made up for the threat of nuclear war.  It was so sweet and tasty with a crusty sugar coated top layer.  You can serve it with cream, ice-cream, custard or even on its own with sugar sprinkled on top.  Thank you, Elsie!

Notes

• My Nan used to make this all the time when I was a boy.  I have kept very close to the original old English recipe.  Obviously, I have replaced animal products with vegan options.

• My Nan would say you don't need to use dark brown sugar, as white granulated will do and is cheaper.  She was right, so I leave the choice to you. 

• You only need the mixed spice if you are short of money or spices.

• The vegan butter is a luxurious extra, so you can leave it out. 

• You don't need the orange zest, but if you have oranges in the house, it is a good way to use up the peel that you might otherwise throw away.

• If you don't like to waste anything, use bread with a soft crust.  After cutting the crust off, cut them into small pieces. 

• You can use any kind of vegan milk, for instance, I have used coconut milk drink (not the stuff in a can) before.

 

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Serving suggestions 

Serve hot or cold with either:

• Vegan custard.
• Vegan cream.
• Vegan ice-cream.
  

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10 – 12 servings  

Time, 2hrs

Ingredients 

• 500g of old bread
• 300ml of oat milk
• 300ml of water
  
• 400g of sultanas or currents
• 70g of vegan suet
• 40 g of vegan butter and some extra for greasing the tin
  
• 1.5 tbsp of mixed spice
• 1 tsp of cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp of ground clove 
• Zest from one orange
  
• 150g of dark brown sugar
• 2 flax egg
• Nutmeg for the topping
  
• Granulated sugar for the topping 

Apparatus

• Baking tin 30 cm x 20 cm  (12 inch x 9 inch)
  
• Large mixing bowl
• Wooden spoon 
• Spatula
• Measuring scales
  

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Method

1. Soak the currents/sultanas in water

2. Break up the bread and put in a bowl.

3. Pour the vegan milk and water from the currents/sultanas over the bread and let soak for 30 minutes. As long as the liquid amounts to 600 ml, that is fine.

4. Use a fork to combine the mixture. 

5. Add the mixed spice, cinnamon, ground clove, flax egg, vegan suet, melted vegan butter and dark brown sugar.  Mix with a wooden spoon until completely combined.

6. Leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow everything to settle and the flavours to infuse.
   

7. Grease the baking tin with butter and pour in the mixture. 

8. Bake in a preheated oven in the middle shelve for 1.5 hrs at 180C.  After 1 hr, take it out and check how it looks, if it is not burning, turn it around and put it back in the oven for the last 1/2 hr. 

9. Once out of the oven, allow it to cool for about 30 minutes. Cut into small rectangles using a wooden spatula while it is still in the tin if you are having trouble getting it out of the tin. Another method is to put a large chopping board over the tin and turn the whole thing upside down very carefully. 

10. You can serve it warm or even cold. 

Mix thoroughly and allow it to rest in the fridge.

Pour into a well greased baking tin.

 

Results 

You won't be disappointed; I know I wasn't. This was every bit as good as I remembered.

I hope that you liked this blog and if you do try this recipe, please let me know how you got on and what it turned out like. You can leave a comment in the comments below.