Festive Stollen Bread Pudding

Serves 6–8 • Time 1 hr plus soaking

Ingredients

Butter for greasing

Stollen bread 750g (1lb 10oz), cubed

Dried apricots 8, roughly chopped

Ground cinnamon 1 large pinch

Eggs 2 medium

Double cream 300ml (½ pint)

Milk 300ml (½ pint)

Caster sugar 3 tbsp

Amaretti biscuits 6 crushed

Vanilla ice cream or single cream to serve (optional)

What to do

1. Butter a shallow ovenproof dish. Toss in stollen and apricots and sprinkle over cinnamon.
2. Beat eggs, cream, milk and sugar. Pour over stollen mix, pressing down to soak well. Scatter over amaretti then, if you have time, set aside in a cool place for 1 hour to soak.
3. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°fan/Gas 4. Put the dish in a roasting tin and pour boiling water around it to come halfway up the sides. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and slightly risen. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving with ice cream or cream, if liked.

TIP Swap apricots for sultanas or dried cherries, and the amaretti biscuits for a handful of flaked almonds, if you like. Try panettone instead of stollen.

Recipe taken from the much-loved Dairy Diary, available to buy now www.dairydiary.co.uk