Bread and Butter Pudding

The first layer inside a buttered dish

The second layer of apples and sugar, sprinkle with ground cinnamon and cloves.

Layer up the bread and butter pudding with a buttered bread layer and apple layer.

This is then covered with the egg , milk and vanilla mixture.

Below the cooked bread and butter pudding.

The last layer of bread and butter has sugar sprinkled on it which goes brown and crispy, heavenly.

This is a great pudding to cook in the oven with a casserole. It takes about 1 hour for the size I do. This is about 8 portions. It freezes well in portions and can be reheated quickly in a microwave.This is the recipe for my version.

Ingredients

2 large bramley apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

8 slices of bread( mine was a firm type of bread but experiment to see what you like) keep the crusts on

butter to spread on the bread

white sugar to sprinkle on the apple layers

ground cinnamon and ground cloves to sprinkle on the apples--2 teaspoons of each

1 1/2 pints of milk(maybe more or less depending on the size of yours dish)

4 eggs beaten

Method

1. Butter a rectangular shallow dish( see mine above)

2. Butter the slices of bread

3. Layer the bread first, then apples, sprinkle sugar and spices on the bread. Continue to layer the bread and apples.

4. In a bowl break the eggs into it and beat with a fork

5. Add the milk to the eggs

6. Pour the milk/eggs over all the layers of apples and bread.

7. I then let it all soak in and press it down with a fork.

8. Put it into the oven above the casserole and cook for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours at gas 4/5--350F--180C. I put it into the oven for the last hour the casserole is cooking and I leave it to cook whilst we have our main meal. It is then usually perfect.

The pudding is cooked when it feels firm and the egg mixture has gone solid.

I use a glass dish so that I can see the base of the pudding.

9. Serve with custard, cream or ice cream

Variations

1. Make with half milk and half double or single cream

2. Layer with dried apricots , the moist type or soak the dry ones first.

3. layer with fruits of the forest, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries etc

4. Add vanilla essence to the milk.

5. Add fresh vanilla pods to the milk.

6. Layer with strawberry , raspberry or another type of fruit jam.

7. Layer with marmalade and lots of spices in the milk such as cloves, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamon.

8. Add the zest of an orange or lemon and layer with marmalade

9. Add chopped stem ginger.

10. Layer with chunks of dark chocolate.

11. Add some cocoa powder to the milk and layer with chocolate.

12. Spread the bread with butter and chocolate hazel nut spread.

13. Soak sultanas, raisins and currants in water and layer with the bread and spices .

14. Soak the fruit above in sherry, rum or whiskey

15. Layer the bread with candied peel and orange and lemon zest.

16. Layer the bread with dessicated coconut and glace cherries.

17.. Layer with dates and chopped walnuts. This is also good with stem ginger added.

18. Layer with rum and raisins.

19. Warm the milk first with crushed cardamons for a perfume like aroma.

20. Add maple syrup for flavouring.

21. Add honey with apples in the layers.

22. Layer with some orange or lemon curd and zest of the fruits.

23. Layer with moist prunes

24. Layer with dried figs.

I have tried most of these combinations and variations of the bread and butter pudding recipe and love them all.

Hope you enjoy this winter comfort food which is very economical to feed a family and will have them coming back for more.

Thanks for reading

Crazycupcakes

Baked Apples with Blackberries

This recipe for Baked Apples with Blackberries is one of those sweets to cook with your casserole in the oven at the same time.

Line a dish with foil, add chopped baking apples or eaters, sprinkle with brown sugar, add sultanas, sprinkle with cinnamon and add some water to the dish. Put in the oven for the last hour of the casserole cooking.

Serve with fresh blackberries and vanilla ice cream.

This is so good, a real comfort food for Autumn.

Has any one any other ideas for sweets that are so easy?

Thanks for reading

Crazycupcakes

Chicken Cacciatore Casserole

This is fresh rosemary which I used in the Chicken Cacciatore Casserole recipe. it is easy to grow in a pot or in a garden plot. It is so aromatic.

Check out this link ROSEMARY

Oyster and shitaki Mushrooms for the Chicken Cacciatore Casserole recipe.

Chicken being tossed in flour, salt. pepper and rosemary.

Chicken Cacciatore Casserole recipe ready to cook.

Chicken Cacciatore Casserole ready to eat.

I have found out that Cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian. If you see 'alla cacciatora' it means a meal made in this hunter style using tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, herbs,peppers , wine with chicken and rabbit . This is my latest version of this Chicken Cacciatore Casserole recipe which I have been making for years. I think it is a good idea to get a basic recipe and then adapt it to what you have in and what is good value at the time.
Ingredients to serve 4 to 6
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped

2 onions diced

1 chicken stock cube or homemade chicken stock

2 chicken breasts off the bone and cut into bite sized chunks

1 box of shitake mushrooms cut into halves--125gm--3 cups

1 box of oyster mushrooms cut into halves --125gm--3 cups

sunflower oil or olive oil

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

plain flour about 2 tablespoons

salt and pepper

dried or fresh rosemary

Method

1. Put the salt, pepper, flour , rosemary and chopped chicken into a plastic bag and coat the chicken.

2. Heat some oil in frying pan and fry the chicken in small batches until it is lightly browned, place in a casserole dish.

3. Add onions ,garlic,mushrooms, the tinned tomatoes to the casserole.

4. Add chicken stock to cover the casserole(see the photograph)

5. Cook the casserole in the oven for 1 1/2 hours at gas 4, 180C 350F

6. Serve with fresh herbs, salad rice, fresh pasta and steamed green vegetables.
Variations

Use a chicken cut into joints but cook longer

Use fresh tomatoes

Use the cheaper varieties of mushrooms

Use fresh rabbit

Add red peppers

Add shallots as well as onions

Use white wine or red wine as half the stock

Add tomato puree to thicken the sauce

Garnish with fresh basil

Serve with a grated hard cheese such as parmesan
This is a light casserole which you can also cook on the hob in a thick based pan.

Thanks for reading

Crazycupcakes