Hot Cross Bun Bread and Butter Pudding

4.76 from 29 votes

Hot Cross Bun Bread and Butter Pudding

This Hot Cross Bun Bread and Butter Pudding is the perfect warming Easter dessert. It's really simple to make and is also a great way to use up leftover buns. A perfect finishing touch to your Easter lunch!

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Family Food

Servings: People

Author: Sarah Rossi

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

Metric - Imperial

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

Stale hot cross buns: Slightly older 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

Extras: In this recipe I’ve added some cream to add a richer taste, but you can swap this for only milk if you prefer. I also use a little sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon for added flavour. You could try adding a handful of chocolate chips if you fancy

IF YOU'RE USING 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

Nutrition