Hot Cross Bun Bread Pudding
Easter is fast approaching, and even though I’m not religious, I do love this time of year for all the Easter food that appears in the shops. Of course there are chocolate eggs, but also – hot cross buns! These sweet spiced buns, with raisins and a big cross on top, are a staple in the UK at this time of year. And they’re even better when they’re made into a tasty bread and butter pudding!
You might also like: Traditional British Pancakes; Easy Apple Crumble Cake; Berry Pancake Pudding.
🍞 What is Bread Pudding?
Bread pudding (also known as bread and butter pudding) is a traditional British dessert that’s made with – you guessed it – stale bread, cooked in an easy custard mixture. It’s a favourite here in the UK, and you’ll regularly find it on menus in restaurants and pubs. As with a lot of traditional British dishes, it’s a super simple recipe, originating in the 11th century as a way to use up stale bread (we Brits are nothing if not resourceful).
But, just like other British dishes, it’s significantly tastier than it sounds… you’ll have to trust me on this one. We’re really good at making something out of nothing.
If you’ve never eaten bread and butter pudding before, there will be a time during the process that you’ll be seriously doubting yourself – probably when you’re leaving the bread to get nice and soggy in the custard mixture. I am aware that the whole concept seems bizarre. But please trust the process! Once it’s baked, it will be moist and cakey, and crispy on the edges, and altogether delicious. Promise. Look at the crispy brown sugar on top!
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❌ What are Hot Cross Buns?
Hot cross buns are a favourite here at this time of year. They’re a lightly spiced, sweetened bun made with raisins, and decorated with a cross to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus. The cross is made from either shortcrust pastry or, more commonly, a flour-based paste – it is not made from icing! To be honest, the cross doesn’t taste of much – if you can find any similar sweetened bun without the cross, those will work just as well.
We generally eat hot cross buns toasted, with some melty butter on top – but they make a great bread and butter pudding too, if you want an easy Easter dessert!
🥗 Ingredients and Substitutions
Here’s what you’ll need to make this hot cross bun bread and butter pudding. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.
- hot cross buns. These are really easy to find in the UK and some other Commonwealth countries, but if you can’t find them, you can easily use any other kind of lightly sweetened bread, such as croissants or brioche. Even a regular unsweetened bread will work, but you may wish to add a little more sugar to the custard mixture.
- raisins – I like it extra fruity, so I add a few extra raisins to the bread pudding, in addition to the raisins in the hot cross buns.
- eggs – for the custard mixture
- milk (or single cream, if you’d like it extra rich)
- ground nutmeg
- ground cinnamon
- brown sugar – to sprinkle over for a sweet, crispy topping.
🥐 Variations on the Recipe
I’ve made bread and butter pudding dozens of times, and I’ve probably never made it the same way twice. This version is built around the flavours of the hot cross buns, to make a perfect easy Easter dessert, but you can use the same concept to make any number of variations. Here are a few ideas:
- The hot cross buns can be replaced by any other kind of bread, either sweetened or unsweetened – see above for a few ideas. This recipe is a great easy way to use up the last few stale pieces of whatever bread you have on hand.
- If you’re using a plainer kind of bread (e.g. a simple sliced bread), you can add flavour with any favourite sweet spread, e.g. Nutella, strawberry jam, marmalade, etc. Just spread your chosen ingredient on each slice of bread (I sometimes add butter to the other side of each slice), and layer them up in the dish before adding the custard mixture.
- You can add any additional mix-ins that you think will work. Here I used raisins, but you could add chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, or anything else you fancy.
Becca’s Top Tip
Try to choose flavours that complement each other – for example, you could make a peanut butter and jam bread and butter pudding, or use marshmallows and chocolate chips for a s’mores version!
🖨️ Printable Instructions
Hot Cross Bun Bread Pudding
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Print Pin Comment(if you suffer from allergies, please double check all ingredients before eating)
Ingredients
- 6 hot cross buns
- 1 Tablespoon raisins or sultanas (optional)
- 3 eggs
- 250 ml (~ 1 cup) milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- To serve: cream, custard, or ice cream
Instructions
- Cut the hot cross buns into chunky pieces – I cut each one into nine chunks. Put half of the pieces into a baking dish (mine measured approx. 9 x 7 inches), nestling the bread down into any gaps. Scatter the raisins on top, if using. Add the remaining hot cross bun pieces, again trying to fill any large gaps, and making sure the top layer is relatively flat.
- Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl or jug, and add the milk, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well to combine.
- Slowly pour the egg mixture over the hot cross buns, allowing it to soak into the bread. Use a fork to press all of the bread down into the liquid. You might need to squish it right down – you don’t need to be careful about it! You can add a splash more milk if there’s not enough liquid to soak all of the bread. Leave to stand for about 5 minutes, so the bread becomes a bit soggy.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top of the dish.
- Bake at 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F) for around 30 minutes, until the egg mixture is fully cooked (a knife should come out clean), and the topping is crisped up to your liking.
- Serve the hot cross bun bread pudding warm, ideally with some cream, custard or ice cream on top.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
💭 Recipe FAQs
Yes – you can prepare the pudding in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to bake.
If needed, bread and butter pudding leftovers can easily be reheated in the microwave.
This Easter dessert is best served with a drizzle of cream, a dollop of custard, or a good scoop of vanilla ice cream.
This looks utterly stunning. Definitely going to give this a go – I’ve done brioche bread and butter pudding before, but never hot cross buns.