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This Hot Cross Bun Bread and Butter Pudding is SUCH a hearty and comforting dessert that’s perfect for serving up at Easter. It’s a delicious twist on the British classic and super easy – it’s also a great way to use up leftover buns!
When it comes to Easter recipes, you cannot beat a bit of indulgence to celebrate the season.
Home cooked lunches and chocolatey treats go without saying, but what about the all-important dessert if you’re cooking for family and friends?
This Hot Cross Bun Bread and Butter Pudding is just the ticket.
It’s SO EASY to make in the slow cooker, which means the prep can be done early and left to its own devices while your attentions are turned elsewhere in the kitchen (you can also make it in the oven – both methods are below).
Why you’ll love this recipe
⭐️ A hearty, substantial pudding that’s perfect for an Easter feast
⭐️ Such an easy, make-ahead method
⭐️ Perfect for hands-off cooking when the kitchen is busy
How we came up with this recipe
I love Easter sweet treats, from Easter Rocky Road to Mini Egg Fudge, but I also wanted to make sure I wasn’t neglecting the main Easter lunch dessert.
While my Mini Egg Cheesecake is always a winner, there’s always room for a more traditional offering when it comes to serving up a British classic, and Bread and Butter Pudding with hot cross buns is exactly that.
I have created methods for both the slow cooker and oven, depending on what works best for you and how much you’re juggling (see the recipe below for a guide).
You can make this as part of a larger Easter feast – follow my Easter Lunch Meal Plan here for main course recipes.
ingredients notes
- Hot cross buns – Stale hot cross buns are best, but don’t worry if you don’t have any. You could cheat and toast them lightly on each side first before buttering and cutting up, but either way, it’s not VITAL
- Unsalted butter – You’ll need a little of this for greasing your oven or slow cooker
- Double cream – Bread and butter pudding is traditionally used with milk only, but I have added cream too to make it richer. You can go with this or just use milk if you prefer
- Eggs – I always use medium, free range, so bear this in mind when it comes to quantities
- Additions – I have also added a little soft light brown sugar, ground cinnamon and vanilla extract to this version for added flavour
How to make bread and butter pudding the slow cooker
1. Split the hot cross buns in half and butter them. Chop into small chunks and put them into a greased slow cooker pan (see notes below about lining). Sprinkle over the sugar.
2. Put the eggs, milk, cream and cinnamon in a jug or bowl and whisk. Pour the combined mixture over the hot cross buns.
3. Put a clean tea towel over the top of the slow cooker, then place the lid on top of that.
4. Cook as per the recipe below, until the top of the pudding is evenly cooked and doesn’t look wet in the middle. Serve immediately.
Hint: Cooking dairy in the slow cooker can be tricky as it can split, so if you’re doing it this way, just make sure to cook it gently on low to stop this from happening.
Substitutions
- Extras – You could try adding a handful of chocolate chips if you fancy.
Leftovers
Keep leftovers in the fridge and reheat in the microwave (or serve cold) for pudding the next day.
Top tips
If you’re cooking this in the slow cooker
Temperature: Cooking dairy in the slow cooker can be tricky as it can split, so if you’re doing it this way, just make sure to cook it gently on low to stop this from happening.
To stop sticking: If your slow cooker is the ceramic type (and is therefore NOT non-stick), I would recommend lining it with baking paper first. Just squash a large sheet into the shape of the cooker (so there are no gaps for the pudding mixture to escape) and there will be no need to use the butter to grease it.
if you’re cooking this in the oven
Soak: Be sure to let the liquid soak into the bread for a while (about 30 minutes). This really helps give you that fluffy texture when it’s baked.
Dish: Use a fairly shallow dish so that you get plenty of nice crunchy topping.
To stop sticking: Use some room temperature butter to grease your dish with well before adding the ingredients
FAQs
It’s a classic British dessert! A basic Bread and Butter Pudding is yeasted bread products (so a plain white loaf, or croissant, or – one of my favourites – pain au chocolat) soaked in a dairy and egg mixture and baked. It works best if the bread is slightly stale as it holds its shape a little better.
You then leave the liquid to soak in and pop the bread and butter pudding in the oven (or slow cooker) until it is set and crispy on top.
You can use any yeasted bread you fancy or have left over. It’s really fun to experiment with brioche bread and butter pudding, panettone bread and butter pudding at Christmas, or in this case, hot cross buns!
I like ice cream best, but you could serve whipped cream or custard too.
It absorbs the water and stop the pudding from being too wet. I often use this trick for slow cooker cakes and puddings.
I do! Try my other Easter-themed offering – Slow Cooker Mini Egg Chocolate Pudding – or my Slow Cooker Apple Crumble or Slow Cooker Chocolate Orange Pudding.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Hot Cross Bun Bread and Butter Pudding
Ingredients
- 4 Hot cross buns, Approx 300g, Slightly stale is best
- 20 g Unsalted butter, At room temperature, for greasing
- 150 ml Double cream
- 500 ml Milk, Semi-skimmed or full fat
- 4 Eggs, Medium, free range
- 50 g Soft light brown sugar
- 2 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
For the slow cook:
- Grease the slow cooker pot very well with about 20g of room temperature butter (see notes).
- Split the hot cross buns into quarters. Put them into the slow cooker pan. Sprinkle over the sugar.
- Put the eggs, milk, cream, vanilla extract and cinnamon in a jug or bowl and whisk. Pour the combined mixture over the hot cross buns.
- Put a clean tea towel over the top of the slow cooker, then place the lid on top of that.
- Cook on LOW for 3-4 hours until the top of the pudding is evenly cooked and doesn’t look wet in the middle. Serve immediately.
To oven cook:
- Pre-heat oven to 170C.
- Split the hot cross buns in half. Reserve 3 'tops' and chop the rest into small chunks. Put into a buttered baking dish. Add the reserved whole 'tops' on the top of the chopped pieces.
- Mix the cream, milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon together and pour over the hot cross buns. Allow to soak in well for about 30 minutes.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until the egg mixture is just set and the top is golden and crispy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this using leftover fruited tea cakes
Beautiful
I made this with some stale hot cross buns I made a couple of days ago. I used one teaspoon of cinnamon and one teaspoon of ground cardamom. Really good, hubby loves it! Thank you x
I tried it today, I used hot cross buns I had made on Good Friday (they were stale),
it worked so well, with the pieces of dark chocolate, heaven. Perfect comfort food during
lock down.
Thanks for the recipe
What do you do with the reserved tops?
Hi there when do we put the reserved tops on?? Thank you
A great Easter weekend dessert