White Chocolate & Apricot Bread & Butter Pudding

I'm not feeling very well at all so let's keep this one short and sweet. If you're after some classic comfort food, you just can't beat a good bread and butter pudding. Quintessentially British, and quintessentially bloody fantastic. I'm pretty sure there's a Sunday this weekend. Use it to make this.

When I got my first job working in kitchens, I remember the first thing I learnt to make was this delicious white chocolate bread and butter pudding that we used to make with slices of panettone. Rich and sweet...it was the perfect pudding and last weekend I decided I had to recreate it. With it being March and not Christmastime, I didn't actually have any panettone lying about and so for this one I've used a nice brioche loaf. As ever, the more butter the better.

Pour 150ml double cream and the same of whole milk into a saucepan. Add a couple teaspoons of vanilla extract and stick on a low heat until you've got a nice gentle simmer. Add 75g white chocolate pieces and stir until melted into you've got one saucepan of creamy, chocolatey, milky goodness.

In a large, clean bowl add 3 medium egg yolks to 60g caster sugar. Get out your whisk and go to town until you've got a smooth, pale mixture. Strong wrists are a must. Carefully pour the warm milk mixture over the eggs, whisking constantly. Return to the pan and heat gently over a low heat, whisking until the mixture thickens into a nice custardy gloop. That's right, 'gloop'.

Cut 6-7 slices of brioche, butter on side and then halve and arrange across a greased baking tray, neatly if you can. Take a large handful of dried apricots and roughly chop, then scatter across the top.

Pour the egg mixture over the top, making sure you get into all of the sneaky little nooks and crannies. Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of demerara sugar and bang your pudding into a preheated oven at 220C for 10-15 minutes, keeping an eye on it until you've got a lovely golden brown crust on top.

That's the lot. Pull it out, slice it up, cover it in cream. I hope you all like this one. I'm off to bed.

Ingredients
150g whole milk
150g double cream
2 tsps vanilla extract
75g white chocolate pieces
60g caster sugar
3 egg yolks
handful dried apricots
6-7 slices brioche
2 tablespoons demerara sugar
butter, for greasing