Bread and Butter Pudding

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Bread and butter pudding is rapidly becoming a lost art largely, I suspect, because it's seen as nursery food. Well, it's time to come out of the closet and admit to that inner child.

This is what a pudding should be - warm, homely, rich and welcoming. You can serve my version to your guests and they will ask for more. Easy on the nutmeg, though. Serve with cinnamon ice cream for those extra squeals of delight.

Okay, to serve 6 people you need:

• 8-10 slices of raisin bread
• butter, slightly softened
• 275ml full cream milk (just over a cup)
• 70ml double (heavy) cream (about 1/3 cup)
• 50g caster (superfine) sugar (2 oz)
• 3 eggs
• grated zest of a lemon
• fresh nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F.

Start out by buttering the dish you are going to cook the pudding in. This should be one of those oblong baking dishes that holds about a litre (2 pints) of liquid. Glazed earthenware is good, enamelled cast iron is even better.

Butter the bread on one side only and cut the slices in half. Leave the crusts on unless you really, really can't stand the look of them. Layer half the slices in the bottom of the baking dish and sprinkle the lemon zest over this half.

Add the rest of the bread slices.

In a blender, whisk together the milk, cream, eggs and sugar and pour this mix over the bread slices. Grate some nutmeg on top and bak in the middle of your oven for 35-40 minutes until set. Serve warm or cold and don't expect any leftovers.

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