Apricot, White Chocolate and Pistachio Bread and Butter Brioche Pudding with Cardamom Custard

We all need some comfort at this time of year and I don’t think it gets more comforting than a bowl of bread and butter pudding. I love the flavour combinations here, the fruity apricots and apricot jam, fragrant nutty pistachios, aromatic cardamom and sweet white chocolate are all matches made in heaven. The warming spice of the cardamom cuts through the sweetness and adds such a lovely richness which is a must try. For me, bread and butter puddings need a crispy top, gooey middle and lashings of custard. Easy to make, full of flavour and texture and utterly delicious.

Serves 3-4

1. First make your cardamom custard. Add 250ml whole milk, 250ml double cream, the zest of an orange and 6 crushed cardamom pods to a saucepan. Gently heat until simmering.
2. In a bowl whisk together 3 eggs with 70g golden caster sugar until thick and creamy. Slowly add the warm milk mixture whisking all the time. Set aside and leave to infuse.
3. Grease a baking dish with plenty of softened unsalted butter. Cut half a brioche loaf into slices if not pre sliced already and then cut each slice into triangles. Butter each slice generously with more unsalted butter and top with apricot jam. Arrange the brioche layers in the dish, sprinkling over roughly chopped white chocolate pieces, chopped dried apricots and pistachios as you go.
4. Once the dish is full, pour over as much of the custard as you can until it soaks into the bread. Leave for a few mins and pour on more custard until it can absorb no more. Sprinkle with plenty of demerara sugar and bake at 180C for 20-25 mins until golden brown and slightly crunchy on top. 5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining custard in a saucepan over a low heat until thickened slightly.
6. Allow the pudding to sit for a few mins once it is removed from the oven and serve with plenty of the cardamom custard.