Chocolate Panettone Bread And Butter Pudding

Bread and butter pudding is a quintessentially British dessert. Layers of buttered bread, scattered with raisins and spices, and covered in lashings of egg custard mixture and baked in the oven. Our version has had a little upgrade for Christmas, swapping bread for panettone and studding the bake with cubes of milk chocolate.

INGREDIENTS

1 large panettone (about 500g)
50 g butter
1 x 110g chocolate (we used Cadburys Dairy Milk)
200 ml whole milk
200 ml double cream
Zest of a lemon
5 medium eggs
100 g golden caster sugar
Custard, to serve (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 190ºC (170ºC Fan). Grease a 1.5l oven-proof baking dish with butter. Slice the panettone into 2cm thick slices, butter each slice and cut each piece diagonally into two triangles.
2. Arrange a single layer of panettone in the bottom of the dish. Add half of the chocolate (cut into squares) and then arrange the remaining slices over the top and sprinkle with the rest of the chocolate.
3. Heat the milk, cream and lemon zest in a pan, without letting it boil. Allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile beat together the eggs and sugar.
4. Slowly add the cooled milk mixture to the eggs beating constantly. Pour over the panettone and leave for ten minutes to allow it to soak. Place in the oven and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes. Serve with custard (optional).