This recipe for hot cross bun bread and butter pudding combines the best of both worlds! The warm, spicy flavours from hot cross buns with the deep, creamy richness of a bread and butter pudding. It's an indulgent, comforting dessert with a custardy centre and a golden, caramelly top.
What sets this recipe apart is the addition of marmalade and a dash of orange zest. The combination of the citrus flavours with the warm spices from the hot cross buns is a match made in heaven.
For more orange-spiked desserts, try this easy, moist chocolate orange cake.
What's to love about this recipe
- The ultimate comfort dessert
- Ideal family pudding for after an Easter dinner
- Very easy and quick to make with prep taking only 15 minutes
- The addition of marmalade and orange zest adds a beautiful citrussy zing to the pudding
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Key ingredient notes and substitutions
Hot cross buns - These days you get all sorts of different flavoured hot cross buns. Use your favourite, like the ones containing chocolate chips. We use Aldi's own brand and they make a delicious pudding, so you really don't need to get the most expensive ones.
Butter - We use unsalted, but salted butter will work fine too. We estimate you need about 1 teaspoon of butter for each hot cross bun, but adapt this to your taste and the size of the buns.
Shredless marmalade - Shredless is the smooth marmalade without the bits of peel. You can usually find it in most supermarkets. Normal shredded marmalade can be used too, just be aware that not everyone is a fan of the shredded version because of the slight bitterness to it.
What if you don't like marmalade at all?
You can also use fine apricot jam. Many traditional hot cross puddings use apricot jam, so this would be a safe substitution.
Eggs - We will need three eggs to make the custard with.
Sugar - You can use granulated or castor sugar.
Vanilla - Two teaspoons gives a really good flavour to the custard.
Orange zest - The recipe notes to add the zest from one small orange. If you only have large oranges, only zest half of it. The zest should just provide a hint of orange and not overwhelm the pudding.
Double cream - Also known as 'heavy cream'. We prefer the additional richness double cream provides, but you can replace this with single, or whipping cream.
Milk - Use either full cream or semi-skinned.
Optional - Small handful of raisons to scatter over the pudding before baking.
How to make the pudding - Quick summary
Prep the hot cross buns:
- Slice each bun in half and sandwich with the butter and marmalade. Place inside an oven proof dish.
Tips for the baking dish:
The size of the dish is quite important for success. We cannot give exact measurements because it will depend on the size of the buns you're using.
The dish needs to be of such a size so that the six hot cross buns fit snuggly into it, but not so tightly that they are being squashed out of shape.
Secondly, there needs to be some room in the height to accommodate the custard mixture that will be poured over it.
For reference, using Aldi's own brand hot cross buns, we used an oven dish of 25cm x 18cm x 5cm.
Make the custard:
- Whisk together the eggs and sugar. You don't need to use an electric whisk for this, a hand whisk or fork will do. Add the vanilla extract and the orange zest and briefly whisk again.
- Over a medium-low heat, warm up the cream and milk to just below simmering point. A visual clue to look out for is the first tiny bubbles showing on the sides of the pan. This is your queue to remove it from the heat.
- Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the egg. The custard won't thicken at this point, it will happen when it's baking in the oven.
Assemble the pudding:
- Pour the custard over the hot cross buns in the bowl. Use a fork to gently move the buns around so that the liquid gets into all the nooks and crannies.
- Gently push down on the buns so the liquid will flood over the tops as well. The buns won't stay submerged and this is fine.
- Scatter a small handful of raisons over the top of the pudding - optional.
- Important: Leave the pudding to sit for a minimum of 30 minutes to absorb the custard.
- Preheat the oven to 170C/338F/gas mark 3.
- Prepare a 'bain marie' by placing the pudding dish into a larger oven dish. Fill the larger dish halfway up with boiling water. This is the best method to bake custard based desserts.
A bain marie (ban mah-REE) is the fancy term for a hot water bath. It’s used for cooking delicate foods like custards and terrines to create a gentle and uniform heat around the food.
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- Carefully move the bain marie onto the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the custard is set and you have a golden brown top. If the top is browning too fast, loosely place a piece of foil over the pudding during baking.
- In the microwave, heat a tablespoon of marmalade for 30 seconds. Using a pastry brush, brush the jam over the top of the baked pudding for a shiny glaze.
Serving suggestions
You can add the following as a side, or on top of the pudding:
- Ice cream
- A dollop of cream
- A spoonful of mascarpone
- A scattering of grated chocolate
- Custard
- Some mini chocolate eggs
Storage
Any leftovers will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days. Re-heat in the microwave until warm throughout.
More easy bakes
More holiday recipes
Valentine's cookies on lolly sticks
Honey roasted carrots and parsnips
Recipe
Hot cross bun bread and butter pudding
Ingredients
- 6 hot cross buns
- 6 teaspoons butter
- 12 teaspoons shredless marmalade and one tablespoon extra for glazing - (smooth marmalade without the shredded peel)
- 3 eggs
- 70 grams sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- zest from one small orange
- 300 millilitre double cream - or 'heavy cream'
- 300 millilitre full cream or semi-skimmed milk
- small handful of raisons - for scattering over the pudding. Optional.
Instructions
Prep the hot cross buns
- Slice each hot cross bun horizontally as you would for making a sandwich. Put the six top halves to the side for now
- Butter each bottom half with one teaspoon of butter, followed by two teaspoons of shredless marmalade
- Place the tops back on the bottom halves
- Put the 6 sandwiched hot cross buns in a baking dish. The size of the dish is quite important. The 6 buns need to fit snuggly but not so much that the buns are squashed out of shape. The dish also needs to be high enough to accommodate the custard filling that will be poured over later.
Make the custard
- In a bowl, hand-whisk together the eggs and sugar. Add the vanilla extract and the orange zest. Briefly whisk again
- Add the cream and milk to a saucepan. Over a medium-low heat, warm up the milk mixture to just below simmering point. As soon as you see the first tiny bubbles appear on the sides, remove the pan from the heat
- Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture in with the eggs. It won't thicken at this point, this will happen in the oven
Assemble the pudding
- Pour the custard mixture over the hot cross buns in the baking dish. With a fork, gently pull the hot cross buns away from the sides and each other to ensure the custard mixture 'floods' every part of the dish. Gently squash the hot cross buns down so that the custard mixture can flood the tops too. The buns won't stay submerged and this is ok
- Important: Leave the pudding for a minimum of 30 minutes to absorb the custard mixture
- Preheat the oven to 170C/338F/gas mark 3
- Scatter over a small handful of raisons over the pudding. This is optional.
- Place the pudding inside a larger oven dish and fill the larger dish halfway up with boiling water (essentially you are baking this in a bain marie which is the best method of baking a custard based dish))
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the custard is set. If the top is browning too fast, cover it loosely with a piece of foil
- Place the extra tablespoon marmalade in a small microwave safe dish and heat for 30 seconds. Using a pastry brush, brush over the top of the baked pudding for a shiny glaze
- Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream, some custard or a dollop of cream
**Nutritional data disclaimer**
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided below is calculated by a third party and we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We try our best to give you the most accurate information, but we do not take responsibility for errors that may be present. Also, the nutritional value of the recipe may change depending on the exact brands and products used. We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare professional or registered dietitian for personalised advice on your dietary needs.
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