serves
4-6
prep
15 minutes
cook
45 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
4-6
people
preparation
15
minutes
cooking
45
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- unsalted butter, plus extra, for greasing
- 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) milk
- 1 tbsp chai spice
- 150 g (5½ oz) pitted dates
- 10 slices day-old bread, cut into triangles and crusts removed
- 3 eggs
- 55 g (2 oz/¼ cup) caster (superfine) sugar, plus extra, for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Butter a 2 litre (70 fl oz/8 cup) baking dish.
Combine the milk and chai spice in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes for the flavours to infuse. Strain the hot milk over the dates and leave to stand for 15–20 minutes. Strain, and reserve the milk and dates separately.
Butter the bread and arrange in overlapping rows in the baking dish. Mix the eggs with the caster sugar and the infused milk and pour over the bread. Allow to stand for 10–15 minutes, then push the bread into the custard to soak up even more of the mixture. Scatter on the dates, tucking them under the bread as necessary.
Sprinkle 1–2 tablespoons of caster sugar over the top of the pudding and bake in the oven for 40–45 minutes. When ready, it will be puffed and golden.
Recipe from What’s For Dinner by Michele Curtis. Published by Hardie Grant Books.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
