What should you do with hot cross buns on Easter Monday? They’re slightly stale but you know they won’t be back for nearly a year so they can’t go to waste. You could toast them and put a slab of butter between their warm cheeks or you could make the best ever Bread and Butter Pudding!

Clearly I love hot cross buns so much that they rarely last long enough to go stale, but this pudding is so good that you’ll make extra so you have enough buns left over for Easter Monday.

You can go two ways with this dish, cut down on the butter and sugar for a pudding so healthy you could have a warm gooey bowl of it for breakfast, or add cream and serve it with icecream for a delicious pudding to warm the coldest hearts.

Best Ever Bread and Butter Pudding
serves 4, 5 minutes prep and 1 hour cooking

4 Perfect Hot Cross Buns, cut in halves
2 eggs
300 mls milk (low fat or half cream depending on your healthy/naughty wishes)
1 to 2 tbs of sugar, honey or agave
1/2 tsp of vanilla essence
butter

Lightly grease a pie dish (about 1 litre in capacity), butter the buns and place in the dish crust side down. Yes, in my picture some are crust side up to show you how beautiful these hot cross buns are.

Mix the milk, sugar, eggs and vanilla essence in a bowl until the eggs are well incorporated. Pour the milk mixture through a sieve to remove any unincorporated egg. Rest for 15 mins for the buns to absorb the liquid.

Bake for 45 minutes at 180 degrees, until the custard is set. Serve with icecream, cream or eat it straight out of the dish.