Delicious UK - (03)March 2020

deliciousmagazine.co.uk 85

food memories.

PORTRAIT: TREVOR LEIGHTON. FOOD

PHOTOGRAPH:

TOBY

SCOTT.

FOOD

STYLING:

JEN

BEDLOE.

STYLING:

VICTORIA

ELDRIDGE

In 50 yearsofrecipewritingtherearecertainrecipesthat

standout,probablybecausesomethingmarksthemoutfromall

therest.Whatmakesthisonea stand-outisitssheervolumeof

popularity– peopleneverstoppraisingit. I’vealwaysbeen(and

stillam)a hugefanofclassicbreadandbutterpuddingthat’s

toasty andcrunchyonthetop,wobblyunderneath and fragrant

withnutmeg,citruspeelandcurrants.

I couldneverhaveevenconsidereda chocolateversionofall

thingsuntilweonce discovered– wouldyoubelieveit– an

Americanrestaurant inEssexcalledMartha’sVineyard.

TheyoungAmericanchefserveda chocolateversion,anditwasquitesimplyoneof

the mostsublimepuddingsI hadevertasted. Alas,therestaurantisnomorebutthe

chefwaskindenoughtogivemetherecipe.WhatI wrotewhenitwaslaterpublished

I willrepeathere: ‘Itissosimplebutsogood– andevenbettermadeoneortwodays

inadvance.’Therecipeisprettymuchasitwas,exceptI donotcoveritwithfoil,

and that’s because I still like the crunchy topping as in the classic version.

Chocolatebreadand

butterpudding

SERVES 6

• 9 slices,each5mmthick,good
  qualitywhitebread,1 dayold,
  takenfroma largeloaf


• 150gdarkchocolate with 75%
  cocoasolids


• 425mlwhippingcream


• 4 tbspdarkrum


• 110gcastersugar


• 75gbutter


• A goodpinchcinnamon


• 3 large eggs

TOSERVE

• Double cream, well chilled

EQUIPMENT

• Youwillalsoneeda shallow
  ovenproofdish18cmx 23cm
  base x 5cm deep, lightly buttered

NEXT

MONTH

Asparagus

withfoaming

hollandaise

METHOD

Beginbyremovingthecrustsfrom

theslicesofbread,whichshould

leaveyouwithapproximately10cm

squares.Sonowcuteachslice into

4 triangles.Nextplacethe

chocolate,whippingcream,rum,

sugar,butterandcinnamonina

bowlsetovera saucepanofbarely

simmeringwater,beingcarefulnot

toletthebowltouchthewater,then

waituntilthebutterandchocolate

havemeltedandthesugarhas

completelydissolved.Nextremove

thebowlfromtheheatandgiveit a

reallygoodstirtoamalgamate all

the ingredients.

Nowina separatebowl,whiskthe

eggsandthenpourthechocolate

mixtureoverthemandwhisk

againverythoroughly to blend

them all together.

Thenspoonabouta 1cmlayerofthe

chocolatemixtureintothebaseof

thedishandarrangehalfthebread

trianglesoverthechocolatein

overlappingrows.Nowpourhalfthe

remaining chocolate mixture all

overthebreadasevenlyas

possible,thenarrangetherestof

thetrianglesoverthat,finishingoff

witha layerofchocolate.Usea fork

topressthebreadgentlydownso

thatit getscoveredvery evenly with

the liquid as it cools.

Coverthedishandallowtostand

atroomtemperaturefor2 hours

beforetransferringit tothefridge

fora minimumof 24 (butpreferably

48)hoursbeforecooking.When

you’rereadytocookthepudding,

pre-heattheoventogasmark4,

180°C.Removethecoveringand

bakeintheovenona highshelffor

30-35minutes,bywhichtime

thetopwillbecrunchyandthe

insidesoftandsquidgy.Leaveit to

standfor 10 minutesbeforeserving

withwell-chilled double cream

poured over.

Recipe:©DeliaSmith1995,

DeliaSmith’sWinterCollection,

publishedbyBBCBooks.Formore

Deliarecipes, cookeryschoolvideos,

informationaboutequipmentand

ingredients visit deliaonline.com