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Old-Fashioned Fruited Bread Pudding

The traditional baked bread pudding from school dinner halls: soaked bread pressed with dried fruit and mixed spice, cut into dense spiced squares.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Servings: 8 squares
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: british
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 8 slices stale white bread (about 400g)
  • 200g mixed dried fruit
  • 60g brown sugar, plus 2 tbsp for the top
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 50g butter, melted, plus extra for the tin
  • 150ml milk
  • 1 pinch salt

Method
 

  1. Tear the bread into rough pieces and soak in cold water for 15 to 20 minutes until completely soft. This is the traditional first step and it stops the pudding tasting bready.
  2. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and butter a 20cm square baking tin.
  3. Squeeze the soaked bread a handful at a time until it stops dripping, then crumble it into a large bowl. It should look like coarse wet breadcrumbs.
  4. Add the dried fruit, brown sugar, mixed spice, salt, beaten egg, melted butter and milk. Mix thoroughly until everything is combined into a thick, spoonable mixture.
  5. Press the mixture evenly into the tin and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the extra sugar over the surface.
  6. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until firm to the touch and dark golden on top. It should spring back slightly when pressed.
  7. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then cut into 8 squares. Eat warm or completely cold with a splash of custard if you have it.