I have been rubbish these last few months and well and truly lost my mojo so haven’t been shooting much worth blogging. It hadn’t happened to me for ages and it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I realised my mojo had gone on holiday without me. I would love to hear how people get themselves out of creative black holes!
Bread and butter pudding and custard is one of my favourite desserts from childhood. It always amazes me what is created out of such simple store cupboard ingredients. I replaced some of the milk with double cream to elevate this dish slightly but it tastes great with just milk too.
Bread and Butter Pudding
Ingredients
butter, for greasing and buttering the bread
8-10 slices white medium sliced loaf, crusts removed
freshly grated nutmeg
75g sultanas
1 tsp vanilla extract
75g caster sugar
4 free-range eggs
400ml milk
300ml double cream
1–2 tbsp Demerara sugar
Butter a large shallow ovenproof pie dish Approx 1.75 lt capacity. Butter the bread slices and cut 4 slices in half on the diagonal. Arrange a layer of whole and half slices, butter side up, in the dish.
Sprinkle over a good grating of nutmeg and sultanas. Top with the remaining bread slices, then arrange the remaining sultanas over the bread, tucking a few in between the slices as well as leaving a few on top.
Whisk the caster sugar with the eggs, then add the milk, double cream and vanilla extract. Make sure everything is well combined, strain through a sieve and then pour this mixture over the bread and sultanas.
Leave the pudding to stand for around half an hour to allow the bread to soak up the custard. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Dot the pudding with a few knobs of butter, then sprinkle over the demerara sugar.
Bake in the oven for 35–45 minutes, or until well set, golden-brown and lightly toasted in places. Eat hot or cold.
Can be reheated in the oven to retain its crispy bits. Set the oven to 160c. Cover with foil for 15 minutes and then cook uncovered for another 5-10 minutes
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Bread pudding, my favorite! But no, it doesn’t get me back to work. What does is to just do anything. Pick up the camera and take a picture of anything, then another, etc., until I am back with it. I start a blog entry on anything that vaguely fits the theme and revise until it looks intentional. I tell myself I’ll just do a little and if I don’t like it, I can stop. I rarely stop. I may have to do that for a couple of months — life is not all feverish inspiration — but it does work and it keeps me out of that paralyzing existential angst that comes when I have done nothing for that couple of months, waiting for inspiration to strike. I give myself three or four days, then really, it’s time to get back at it.
Thanks Lynn. I do usually try to force myself but I seem more stuck than usual this time! Will get taking pics and see if I can force my way out of this!