I spent a few months perfecting a crème catalana recipe under Chef Yellow Mehra, testing version after version until we finally settled on the one she had learned from Chef Alfons Schubeck. Those weeks taught me the quiet discipline of custards — slow caramelisation, gentle heat, and the way warm milk coaxes out the perfume of spice.

Festive cooking, however magical, often brings with it an unavoidable trail of leftovers and odds and ends — especially bread. This bread butter pudding is my favourite way to honour that excess. It carries the same spice philosophy I learned from those two chefs, but grounds it in home-style comfort.

A bowl of custard, leftover holiday bread, and a few warm spices — it’s the kind of dish that makes the season feel whole again.

Caramel Bread Pudding (My Kitchen Notebook Recipe — 08/04/17)

Ingredients

Custard

• Egg yolks — 6
• Caster sugar — 100 g
• Milk — 275 ml
• Cream — 275 ml
• Icing sugar — 2 tbsp (for caramelising)
• Cinnamon powder — 3 pinches
• Nutmeg — 2 small gratings
• Vanilla essence — 1 tsp
• (Optional) Orange zest — ½–1 tsp

Bread Layer

• Bread slices — cut into squares or triangles
• Butter — 120 g (melted, for dipping)
• Rum-soaked raisins — 2–3 tbsp (or as preferred)

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Method

1. Caramelise the icing sugar

1. Add 2 tbsp icing sugar to a small saucepan.
2. Heat gently until it melts and caramelises to a light amber colour.
   Icing sugar caramelises quickly — keep the flame steady and low.

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2. Infuse the milk & cream

3. Once caramelised, pour in the milk and cream.
4. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, stirring to dissolve all the caramel.
5. Switch off the heat.
6. Add:
   • cinnamon
   • nutmeg
   • vanilla
   • (optional) orange zest
7. Cover and allow it to cool until warm, not hot.

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3. Cream the egg yolks

8. Cream 6 egg yolks + 100 g caster sugar until the mixture is pale, thick and voluminous.

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4. Temper the custard

9. Slowly pour the warm caramel milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
10. Once smooth and combined, the custard is ready.

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5. Prepare the bread

11. Melt 120 g butter.
12. Dip each bread piece in the melted butter.
13. Arrange the buttered bread in your baking dish.
14. Scatter rum-soaked raisins between the layers for a festive touch.

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6. Assemble & Bake

15. Pour the warm custard evenly over the bread.
16. Bake at 150°C for 40 minutes, then begin checking.
    The pudding is done when the centre is softly set with a light wobble.

(Because this is a gentle custard, low and slow is essential.)