Hairy Bikers' pecan bread and butter pudding recipe

If you’re looking for a bread and butter pudding recipe with a difference this is it. The Hairy Bikers’ rich and indulgent spin on bread and butter pudding with pecan nuts and butterscotch sauce is the ultimate naughty treat. It won't disappoint!

This mouthwatering dessert is so easy to make at home and is just perfect for sharing with friends and family.

The Hairy Bikers bread and butter pudding uses double cream making it extra rich and creamy. It is also made with baguette bread and is sprinkled with pecans and drizzled with maple syrup to make it extra special.

Ingredients

• 250ml double cream
• 200ml whole milk
• 1 vanilla pod
• 75g butter, plus extra for greasing
• 1 large baguette, roughly 415g
• 150g pecan nut halves
• 4 large eggs
• 200g soft light brown sugar, plus 1 tbsp
• 100ml maple syrup
• 3tbsp whiskey (optional)

For the butterscotch sauce:

• 75g butter
• 150g soft light brown sugar
• 1tbsp whiskey
• 50ml double cream

Method

1. Pour the cream and milk into a saucepan. Split the vanilla pod down its length and scrape out all the seeds into the saucepan. Throw in the empty pod for good measure and heat very gently, stirring occasionally.
2. When the milk is at the point of boiling, remove from the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
3. Butter a 2 litre shallow ovenproof dish. Put the remaining butter in a small saucepan and melt over a low heat; set aside.
4. Carefully cut the crusts off the bread and cut the bread into roughly 2cm chunks – you should end up with around 250g. Put the bread in the buttered dish.
5. Break roughly half the pecans in half and scatter over the bread. Add the rest of the nuts whole. Toss the bread with the pecan nuts. Drizzle with the melted butter and set aside.
6. Using an electric whisk, beat the eggs in a large bowl with the sugar, maple syrup and whiskey, if using, for five minutes until pale and thick.
7. Strain the warm cream mixture through a sieve onto the eggs and whisk well. Pour slowly over the bread. (Discard the vanilla pod.) Leave the pudding to stand for an hour at room temperature or cover and chill in the fridge overnight.
8. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp of sugar over the pudding and bake in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes until deep golden brown and slightly risen. (There should be a little liquid remaining in the centre of the pudding that will be absorbed as the pudding stands.)
9. While the pudding is baking, make the butterscotch sauce.
10. For the butterscotch sauce: Put the butter and sugar in a small pan and melt together over a low heat until smooth, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon until smooth.
11. Bring to a simmer then carefully stir in the whiskey, taking care not to get splashed by the hot caramel, followed by the cream, stirring continuously as the bubbles subside.
12. Cook for a minute or so until smooth and creamy, stirring. Pour into a small jug.
13. Serve the pudding hot with whipped cream or ice cream and the butterscotch sauce for pouring.

Bread and butter pudding is best served with warm custard and the custard adds to the moisture of this classic British dessert.

If you like cream you could serve with cream or how about a scoop of vanilla or chocolate ice cream. The Hairy Bikers version shows you how to make a rich butterscotch sauce to serve with this bread and butter pudding.

If you’ve got leftover bread and butter pudding or you’ve made it in bulk you’ll be glad to know that you can freeze it. Freezing bread and butter pudding in bulk is easy, all you have to do is wait for the dish to cool down completely, cover in clingfilm and then pop into the freezer making sure you’ve got plenty of space. If you’re low on space and don’t want to wait around for the pud to cool down you could freeze in portion sizes in freezable bags. You can also freeze bread and butter pudding unbaked.

Leftovers that you’d like to save for the next day you can just pop in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 2 days. Bread and butter pudding is best reheated before serving but you can technically eat it cold if you’re prefer.