BREAD PUDDING

This recipe is specially for my daughter's friend Lyn upon her request. It's is one of the easiest desserts to make and it is very yummy. It can be eaten as it is or with a poured custard. We at home prefer eating it as it is.

4 slices of day old bread
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups full cream milk
3/4 cup castor sugar or according to taste
1 tspn vanilla essence
some butter

Grease an oven proof baking dish of about 1.2 liter capacity.

Slice the bread diagonally so that you get 8 triangles. This is not a rule but rather an option. You can slice it anyway you want or not at all. Butter the slices on one side and then arrange them in the greased dish anyway you like. Make sure that they are spread out though.

Break eggs into a large bowl. Add sugar and beat just until sugar dissolves. Do beat too much as you do not want the mixture to foam up. Pour int he milk and mix well again. Add a pinch of salt if you like and the vanilla essence. Stir.

Pour the egg mixture ontothe bread pieces in the baking dish and press down the bread if necessary to ensure that they are all covered by the milk. Let stand for about fifteen minutes to allow the bread to completely soak into the milk.

Bake at 180 C for about an hour or until the pudding is fairly firm to the touch.

Serve hot or cold with or without pouring custard. We like it cold....

..this reminds me of a nursery rhyme that I used to rattle off as a child...

Pease porridge hot
Pease porridge cold
Pease porridge in the pot
Nine days old
Some like it hot
Some like it cold
Some like in the pot
Nine days old

TIP : Bread pudding wouldn't last nine days