Rum and Raisin Bread and Butter Pudding with Orange and Ginger

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Rum soaked raisins are topped with a layer of soft, ginger jam sandwiches, cooked in a silky, smooth, delicious, orange custard and finished with a crunchy sugar and ginger topping. Serve hot with ice cream, cream or even custard, this luscious dessert has a range of luxurious textures and flavours, yet sits firmly at the top of the comfort food category.

Flavoured with rum (use orange juice, if you are looking for an alcohol free version), orange and ginger, this bread and butter pudding works well all year round. However, I feel it is particularly delicious at this time of year, when Christmas is around the corner and we are looking for comforting seasonal treats and flavours. Indeed, if you are not a Christmas pudding fan, this would make a wonderful alternative on the big day.

It comes together very quickly, uses mostly store cupboard ingredients and can be prepared, up to the point of baking, in advance. Furthermore, you can use whatever bread you have available. I used brown bread, but white bread, brioche, old croissants, or even tea cakes or hot cross buns, would work wonderfully well too. Simply use the same weight and follow the recipe as described. However, brioche and croissants are already laden with butter, so I would not add any extra to either of these.

How to make Rum, Raisin and Orange Bread and Butter Pudding

Where is this recipe from?

This recipe is inspired by a Nigella recipe I saw recently called My Grandmother’s Ginger Jam Bread and Butter Pudding. See here for the original recipe. However, the quantities are based on the bread and butter pudding I have been making for years.

Collect all the ingredients together:

Please see the printable Recipe Card below for the exact, yet condensed, quantities and instructions. Please note, this recipe is for 2 – 3 people but can be increased easily, if necessary.

Bread and Butter –

• raisins – if you are not a fan of dried fruit, simply omit and stir the rum (or orange juice) into the custard mix.
• dark rum – or use orange juice if you’d prefer an alcohol free dessert
• brown bread. You could also use white bread, brioche, old croissants, tea cakes or hot cross buns.
• unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ginger jam. Rhubarb and ginger or plum and ginger would also work wonderfully.

Custard –

• milk. Full fat milk is best, but I have also used semi-skimmed. I find it easier to weigh the milk into a jug on the scales, rather than measure it in ml.
• double/heavy cream. If you don’t want to eat/can’t eat too much cream, you could replace this with single cream or milk instead.
• soft brown sugar, or you can use caster sugar. You could also use granulated sugar but caster sugar is generally preferred for baking. The smaller crystals dissolve better, giving a smoother batter and more consistent results after baking.
• orange zest
• vanilla extract, or you could use vanilla paste. It is always better to use extract rather than essence. Extracts are derived from the natural product, whereas essence may be derived from a synthetic product or a mixture of the two.
• egg. I use medium sized eggs, roughly 50 – 55g.
• fine salt.  Ideally a fine sea salt.

Topping –

• ground ginger
• demerara sugar. You could replace it with granulated sugar.

How to make this wonderful, comforting pudding:

1. Baking dish – you will need a buttered 750ml – 1 litre/2 pint baking dish – mine measures 22cms x 14cms and 6cms deep.
2. Raisins and rum – weigh the raisins and rum into a small, microwave safe bowl and blitz for 1 minute in a microwave. Set aside. This helps to infuse the raisins with the rum and also keeps them moist and luscious whilst cooking.
3. Bread and butter – butter the bread and use the remaining butter to grease the baking dish. Use additional butter, if necessary.
4. Jam – spread the jam on half of the bread slices and then top with the remaining bread. Slice off the crusts and cut each jam sandwich into 4 triangles.
5. Custard – weigh all the custard ingredients into a jug and mix well.
6. Layer – tip the rum and raisins into the base of the buttered baking dish and top with the jam sandwiches. I alternate corner tip up and then flat base uppermost.
7. Add custard – pour the custard over the sandwiches, ensuring they are all covered in the mixture. Spoon over some custard on any areas not covered. Leave to absorb the custard for a minimum of 10 minutes. If preparing in advance, cover with cling film and set aside in the fridge until you are ready to cook. You can prepare this dessert up to 24 hours before you cook it.
8. Topping and bake – mix the demerara sugar with the powdered ginger and sprinkle over the top of the pudding. Bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven for about 30 – 40 minutes, or until the bread slices on the top of the pudding are crispy and the custard mixture has just set. You will know it is cooked when the centre rises in a slight dome shape and feels firm, yet wobbly, to the touch.
9. Serve – leave to sit for 10 minutes and then sieve over a little icing sugar. Serve hot or warm, either as is, with ice cream, cream or even some custard.

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Made this recipe?

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