My personal riff on bread and butter pudding is the perfect crowd-pleaser for uniting traditionalists who love British comfort food and those with more adventurous palates. Better still, it's very easy to make.
I have never really had a sweet tooth. Even as a kid, I was more into savoury than sweet. So, you're not going to find many sugary delights in this archive. But this personal invention is one that I genuinely like, partly because you can dial the sweetness up or down as needed.
It's good for many occasions, a particularly useful weapon in the arsenal as a Christmas alternative to Christmas pudding or when desperately trying to float a suggestion that enables you to side step relatives in favour of hyperglycaemia for the dessert course.
This recipe is for approximately six diners (depending on how many greedy gubbins are in the party) and it keeps well and can be reheated or enjoyed cold. The overall time it takes to complete is over 30mins, but the preparation and hands-on effort is minimal.
Shopping list
Pannetone — almost any type works but I would suggest one that has at least some form of fruit in it such as sultanas or raisins. My personal favourite are those with proper green angelica. Also, unless you really love pannetone and are going to happily eat the rest of it, I suggest going for a smaller one since it doesn't actually require that much per diner.
3 ripe pears — in this particular case, only use tinned pears if you're desperate or screw up the first step
3 eggs
Approx 250ml full fat milk
Butter — salted or unsalted, it's all good
Berries, approx 1 to 1.5 cups. My personal favourite is blueberries but it works equally well with redcurrants, blackcurrants, blackberries or (especially if you add the pickled ginger) gooseberries
Demerara sugar to taste
175ml red wine
Amaretto or grappa (optional)
Preserved root ginger (optional)
Peel the pears and poach in a little water with the red wine, making sure that they don't stick to the bottom of the saucepan and burn. They should be poached until fully soft (i.e. when you can pierce them easily with a fork) but they should not be overcooked until flaking. I prefer to cook them for longer at a lower heat than cooking them too quickly.
Top taste tip: poach the pears the day before and once they've cooled, marinate them overnight in the fridge with a little grappa and slices of pickled root ginger
With clean fingers, liberally grease an ovenproof baking dish at least 5cm deep with butter
Cut the pannetone into "pie slice" wedges in the way one does when traditionally serving it. The thickest side (i.e. the outer "circumference" side) should be about 5 or 6cm thick. Lay these into the dish in an irregular pattern so that it is fairly tightly filled, but being careful not to build up multiple layers of pannetone. Sprinkle over some demerara sugar with restraint (or not if you love sweet puddings. If you like boozy puddings, douse liberally with grappa and allow the pannetone to soak it up.
Cut the poached pears vertically. Remove the pips and sinews. Then slice them vertically into sixths or quarters. Lay them into the natural "valleys" between the pannetone wedges ensuring their even distribution throughout the dish
Liberally scatter the berries of choice evenly throughout the dish. If you opt to use the preserved root ginger, chop this into fine slices and add it in the same way
Break the eggs into a mixing bowl or jug and whisk, slowly adding about 200ml of the milk. When fully combined, slowly pour it over the ingredients in the dish ensuring it's absorbed evenly. If you seem to be "running short", add the remaining milk to the mixture, whisk and pour it in too. Ideally you want the liquid to rise to at least half of the height of the ingredients in the dish.
Sprinkle a liberal amount of demerara sugar over the top of the dish and add a few knobs of butter to the pannetone with the most prominent peaks
Bake in the centre of the oven pre-heated to 200°C/gas mark 6 and bake until the liquid is clearly cooked and the top golden brown. If necessary, turn the oven to a high heat to complete the baking. It's suited to serving whilst still hot
Accompaniments
This pudding doesn't really need any accompaniments, but it is particularly delicious with a good vanilla ice cream, single cream or vanilla sauce.
Variations
It is already veggie, but the two best results I've had so far include adding crushed macadamia nuts and mango chutney (not jam and, no, not at the same time).
Pairings
It's certainly worked well with a range of muscatels, but again we'll have to call in Karel who paired it with something exquisite and obscure one year in Antwerp.
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