Nigella’s cheesy bread and butter pudding recipe
Loved for her decadent – and distinctive – cooking style, Nigella Lawson is equally famous for her bizarre but brilliant recipe tips, from buttering toast twice to mixing Marmite into spaghetti. Here she continues that theme, sharing her recipe for the ultimate bread and butter pudding, made with one unusual addition – Laughing Cow cheese triangles.
While she admits that there are usually certain rules involved when making the classic British pud, in this recipe Nigella ignores them ‘unrepentantly’, explaining that this dish is all about nostalgia.
“This is the bread-and-butter pudding of my early childhood, the one I ate at my granny’s: soft, squidgy, and straightaway!" she says. "So here the bread is white sliced, and used straight out of the pack, though if you do have stale bread, of course use that; the custard requires no cream; the steeping lasts no more than 10 minutes; and – stay with me here – the bread is sandwiched not with butter but triangles of Laughing Cow.”
Nigella says that, when she was young, a triangle of Laughing Cow was considered a huge treat. To this day, a sandwich made from basic sliced white and Laughing Cow is one of her go-to comfort foods.
She adds: “It occurred to me some time ago that this could form the basis for a bread and butter pudding, and I’m happy to announce I was not wrong!"
Things to note:
If you can, leave the pudding to steep for 10 minutes before cooking and, once cooked, leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
For US ingredients and measurements, use the drop-down menu and select 'Cups'.
Ingredients
- 6 medium slices soft white bread, from an 800g loaf
- 6 Laughing Cow Original cheese spread triangles
- 50 g caster sugar, plus 1 tsp
- 1 small unwaxed lemon, zest finely grated
- 30 g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 4 large eggs (not fridge-cold)
- 2.5 tsp vanilla extract
- 500 ml whole organic milk (not fridge-cold)
- 2.5 tsp demerara sugar
- 4 tsp golden syrup, to serve (optional)
- 6 medium slices soft white bread, from an 800g loaf
- 6 Laughing Cow Original cheese spread triangles
- 1.8 oz caster sugar, plus 1 tsp
- 1 small unwaxed lemon, zest finely grated
- 1.1 oz unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 4 large eggs (not fridge-cold)
- 2.5 tsp vanilla extract
- 17.6 fl oz whole organic milk (not fridge-cold)
- 2.5 tsp demerara sugar
- 4 tsp golden syrup, to serve (optional)
- 6 medium slices soft white bread, from an 800g loaf
- 6 Laughing Cow Original cheese spread triangles
- 1.8 oz superfine sugar, plus 1 tsp
- 1 small unwaxed lemon, zest finely grated
- 1.1 oz unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 4 large eggs (not fridge-cold)
- 2.5 tsp vanilla extract
- 2.1 cups whole organic milk (not fridge-cold)
- 2.5 tsp demerara sugar
- 4 tsp golden syrup, to serve (optional)
Details
- Cuisine: British
- Recipe Type: Dessert
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 40 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Spread each slice of bread with a Laughing Cow cheese triangle.
- Sprinkle 1 tsp caster sugar lightly over 3 of the cheese-topped bread slices (in other words, using 1/3 tsp per slice) and then divide the lemon zest between those same 3 pieces of bread, scattering it over each sugar-sprinkled slice.
- Top these slices with the ones that have just Laughing Cow on them and spread the soft butter on top of each sandwich, using a little extra butter to grease an oval baking dish (mine is 28 cm/11 in at its longest point, but you could go a little smaller).
- Cut each sandwich into 4 triangles and arrange them in the buttered dish. I tend to go for a slightly higgledy-piggledy approach, placing some sandwiches with crusts down, some with the crusts up, but it’s really just a matter of choice (and temperament).
- Crack the eggs into a wide measuring jug, add the vanilla and 50g (1.8oz) caster sugar (superfine sugar) and whisk together by hand to combine and aerate. Now, whisking more gently, pour in the milk and when it’s all combined pour over the sandwiches in their dish.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/ 180ºC fan/350°F/gas mark 4 and leave the pudding to steep for 10 minutes, or as long as it takes the oven to get to temperature, spooning the custard over the slices every now and again as you wait.
- Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top and bake for 35-40 minutes, by which time the custard will be just set and puffed up, and the top a pale gold.
- Leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving, dribbling a little golden syrup over each bowlful, if wished.
Adapted from a recipe supplied by Ocado and Nigella Lawson. Image courtesy of Ocado and Nigella Lawson.
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