With a return to routine after the festive season, the month of February is a chance to celebrate Valentine’s Day, says Martin Hollis head chef of the Old Course Hotel.
Whether you are joined by your partner or family and friends, February 14 is an excellent excuse to show the people you love how much you care for them.
This dish uses chocolate and Baileys to give a twist on the classic bread and butter pudding, that’s perfect for sharing.
This is one of my favourite puddings but you can always leave out the alcohol.
This recipe serves four to six people and can be adjusted for two by halving the ingredients needed.
Ingredients for 4-6 people:
500ml milk
100ml double cream
75g caster sugar
3 large free-range eggs
75g good dark chocolate broken into shards
75ml Baileys
50g butter softened
8 slices of slightly stale white bread
Method:
Preheat your oven to 135C.
In a large pan on your oven hob, bring the milk and cream to the boil then turn off the heat.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar.
Add the chocolate and Baileys into the pan with the milk and cream mixture and stir until the chocolate has melted. Next whisk into the egg mix.
Butter an oven proof dish of approximately 20cm x 15cm.
Trim the crusts off the bread and cut into triangles. Layer them in the buttered dish, with overlapping pieces to create a base for the custard.
Pour the chocolate and Baileys mixture over the bread making sure each piece of bread is soaked.
Bake in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes until the custard is just setting.
You don’t want to overcook the pudding, or it will harden and become rubbery.
Serve when still warm from the oven with ice cream or crème fraîché.
