SC - OOP - Christmas Bread and Butter Pudding

[Lee-Gwen Booth]

Unto the gathered Cooks of the List does Gwynydd of Culloden send Greetings
and the Following:

All this talk about Bread and Butter pudding reminded me of a variation I
developed one Christmas for my Lady who adores dried fruit and Bread and
Butter Pudding.  I didn't write down the basic recipe for the pudding
because this is one of the few things which I make up as I go along!
Basically it is:
*some* (enough to nicely fill the dish you are using - but not too full)
sliced white bread, buttered and with crusts removed (and fed to the ducks)
*some* milk (again, it depends on the size of the dish, as well as how much
bread you have.  The bread should be wet.  Start with about 1 pint and work
up from there)
1-2 eggs
brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla to taste
The Christmas extra is:
 1/3c (or there abouts) prunes, currants, and glace apricots (use fruits to
taste - these were what I had on hand) roughly chopped
a few pieces of glace or candied ginger finely sliced.
all soaked in about 1/4c brandy overnight.

Layer the bread into the dish, butter side down, sprinkling each layer with
sugar, spices, and fruit until all the bread and fruit are used up, ending
with bread.  Mix the egg, vanilla, and milk together well and pour over the
bread.  If there is not enough liquid to drench the bread, just pour some
more over it until the bread stops absorbing it.  Press the bread with a
fork to make sure that the bread has absorbed all the milk it can.  Sprinkle
with sugar and spices.

Bake in a medium oven for 20-30 minutes until it is firm to the touch and
nicely browned.

This can also be made in a microwave (well, I had no oven so I had no
choice!).  Cook on Medium for about 10 minutes (I think) until firm to the
touch.  Brown under a griller (broiler, I think) if you like.

Serve with brandy butter, cream, ice cream, et cetera