Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
¼ cup currants
¼ cup port or brandy
10 slices thick white bread, crusts removed
50 g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
150 g caster sugar
2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
250 ml milk
500 ml cream
1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
4 eggs
1 tbsp raw sugar
vanilla ice cream to serve
METHOD
1 Preheat oven to 160°C. Lightly grease a 6-cup capacity ovenproof dish with softened butter.
2 Heat port or brandy in small sauce until simmering. Remove from heat and add currants to soak. Set aside for 15 minutes.
3 Butter one side of each slice of bread. Layer slices, slightly overlapping, into the greased ovenproof dish.
4 Place sugar, Chinese five-spice, milk, cream, vanilla and eggs into a large bowl. Whisk until well combined.
5 Pour liquid mixture over the bread. Stand for 10 minutes so the bread absorbs some of the liquid. Sprinkle the raw sugar over the top. Then pop the whole thing into your preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until the pudding is just set and the top is golden brown.
6 Serve warm with ice cream.
Tip
To bake ahead and reheat pudding can be baked ahead, cooled and then reheated when ready to serve. To reheat, cover with foil and warm for 20-30 minutes in a 160°C oven. Or bake in a microwave-proof dish and reheat in the microwave.
The Carousel thanks Marion Grasby for this recipe
