Nell Mcdonald's Bread Pudding

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 8 slices day-old bread, crusts removed
• 315 ml milk (1/2 pint)
• 500 g mixed dried fruit
• 60 g candied peel
• 1 cooking apple, peeled and grated
• 90 g brown sugar
• 90 g self-raising flour
• 2 tablespoons marmalade (rounded tablespoons)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 lemon, juice of
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (level teaspoon)
• 120 g butter or 120 g margarine, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 150c (300f).
• 2 tear bread into pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.
• 3 pour over milk, give it a good stir, then allow the bread to soak while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.
• 4 to another large mixing bowl add mixed fruit, candied peel, grated apple, brown sugar, self-raising flour, marmalade, eggs, lemon juice and cinnamon.
• 5 stir to combine.
• 6 when the bread is nice and soft and has soaked up the milk, add the contents of the fruit mixture to the bread mixture.
• 7 using a wooden spoon, beat until thoroughly mixed and bread pieces are no longer visible in the mixture.
• 8 stir half the melted butter into the mixture.
• 9 spoon mixture into a well greased, rectangular baking dish measuring approximately 18cm x 28cm (7" x 11") with 5cm (2") high sides.
• 10 smooth top, then, using the back of a fork, scrape the tines along the length of the pudding to 'rough up' the surface.
• 11 pour the other half of the melted butter evenly over the top of the pudding.
• 12 place pudding on the centre shelf of the preheated 150c (300f) oven.
• 13 bake for 1 1/2 hours at 150c (300f), then increase temperature to 180f (350f) or slightly less for a fan forced oven, and bake for another 15-30 minutes, checking after 15 minutes to ensure it's not burning around the edges.
• 14 remove when the pudding is nicely browned and a skewer, inserted into the middle, comes out clean.
• 15 while the pudding is still hot, sprinkle evenly with sugar.
• 16 cool and cut into bars.
• 17 keeps well.