the magic pudding

Now I guess I need to come clean and admit that a very similar pudding has previously graced the pages of stonesoup in the form of a fig & whisky bread & butter pudding. But where that version was quite crusty and designed to stand elegantly alone, my latest take has gone for the warming flavour of vanilla rather than the booze and upped the liquid components to create a more classic rich custardy pud, just crying out to be eaten hot straight from the ramekin.

The other thing you’ll notice is that there isn’t technically and bread or butter in this pudding but if you think about a croissant as bread with the butter built in, it makes sense to stream line the process and use them instead of actually going through the bread buttering step yourself.

1C dried figs, roughly chopped
4 croissants (stale ones are fine)
165g (3/4C) caster sugar
6 eggs
300mL pouring cream
100mL milk
2t vanilla extract
vanilla icecream, to serve

Pour boiling water over the figs and allow to stand for a few minutes before draining. Slice croissants into rounds about 1cm thick. Divide croissants and figs between 6 x 250mL ramekins or a 6 cup capacity ovenproof dish. You may need to push down on the croissants to get them all to fit.

Whisk together sugar and eggs until well combined then stir through milk, cream and vanilla. Pour ¾ of the liquid mix over the croissants and allow to stand for at least 10 mins or up to a couple of hours.

Preheat oven to 200C. Top ramekins with remaining liquid and bake for 20-30mins or until puffed up and golden. Serve hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.