Ginger Jam Bread And Butter Pudding

Our answer

Nigella's My Grandmother's Ginger Jam Bread And Butter Pudding (from NIGELLA BITES) is a bread and butter pudding flavoured with ginger jam (ginger preserve) and studded with rum-spiked raisins. The raisins are simmered briefly with rum so that they soak up the liquid and become plump and soft. If you wish to avoid alcohol then we would suggest using 3 tablespoons of orange juice instead. Leftovers of the pudding should be stored, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days. We would suggest eating the leftovers cold, with a little pouring cream.

Usually these types of puddings are baked in earthenware, porcelain or heat-resistant glass dishes, which are wide and shallow and our preference would be to use one of these. A regular cast-iron casserole (Dutch oven) is usually deeper and we are slightly concerned that this will affect the way the pudding bakes as the higher sides will shield the top of the pudding from the heat. However, if you have the style of casserole dish known as a "braiser" or "buffet casseole", which is shallow, then it may be possible to use this instead. Just bear in mind that cast iron tends to heat up more slowly then stay hotter for longer than the materials mentioned above. So judging the right time to take the pudding out of the oven is more difficult. The baking time will be approximately the same, but we would suggest looking for the point where the pudding is puffed up but the centre is still slightly wobbly (but not liquid). The custard mixture will continue to set in the residual heat of the dish, as it stands.