altariel | Scoff, with vigour

This is partly an attempt to work out whether I can do the hiding text thing, but here's the recipe for the SO's Extra Special Bread'N'Butter Pudding.

Ingredients

For pudding (serves 6)

8 x Croissants, preferably slightly stale

8-10 dried pears or apricots, chopped [pears are nicer]

¾ pint of whole milk

¼ pint double cream

3 whole eggs

Vanilla pod

For Sauce

¾ pint double cream

200g good dark chocolate

Method

Take a large pudding basin of some description.

Shred 4 of the croissants, and layer them into the basin; it should now be half full.

Take half of the fruit, and scatter evenly over the base layer.

Shred 2 of the croissants and layer them.

Scatter the remaining fruit over the croissants.

Shred the remaining 2 croissants, and layer them on top.

Then, pour the cream and milk into a jug, add the three eggs and the seeds from the vanilla pod and combine with a whisk. You’re looking to get a little air in. (That’s just a standard custard.)

Pour the custard over the croissants, making sure that you give it an even soaking (you want to make sure that the croissants at the top get well dampened as the liquid soaks through to the bottom, or they will burn too quickly).

Ideally, you then leave this to stand for an hour or so, but you can get away with less. In the meantime, warm the oven to a medium temperature (say, 160C).

When it has finished soaking, pop it into the bottom of the oven. It will take somewhere between 20 and 30 mins to cook. Check periodically to ensure that the top doesn’t burn (as the buttery croissants will go very suddenly). A dark brown, crusty top is good, but a blackened outer shell would be a bit of a disappointment! You should find that you have a soft, still slightly gooey centre, graduating to a crusty outside. You need another couple of minutes if any liquid comes to the surface if you shake it gently.

Having taken the pud out of the oven, you can make the sauce.

Break the chocolate into a microwave-proof bowl, capable of holding a couple of pints, and add a tablespoon of cold water. Bung it in the microwave on medium power for about a minute and give it a good stir with a fork to help the last of the lumps melt in the heated liquid. It may need another 30 seconds or so, but be careful not to over-heat the chocolate, or it goes all crumbly and unpleasant. It is ready when you have a thick, dark, glossy brown/black bowl of liquid chocolate, which is warm, but not hot.

Then, with a hand whisk, gradually whip in the cream, a little at a time, ensuring that the chocolate is fully combined each time before adding another dollop of cream. This prevents the cream from curdling. You should end up with a glossy, creamy brown-coloured sauce.

Scoff, with vigour.

My addition

Note that with extra croissants and any left-over chocolate sauce, you have breakfast for the following morning.

Hey, it worked!