Bread & Butter Pud in the Varoma

I am not a dessert person, but the other half most certainly is a lover of last course.

The other night I decided to try whipping up a sweet in the Varoma. Because I had not planned on dessert there was not much available, so hunting around I found enough to please my beloved.

One good aspect of using the Varoma is that generally you don't have to give the bowl a thorough clean after mixing ingredients and then steaming. This is another example where a light clean is all you need & then the steaming action helps reduce cleaning later.

There are so many recipes for B&B pud. You can adapt you favourite, whether it be with croissants, panetone, brioche, raisin bread or good old white bread. You can add or leave out dried fruit or peel. Add chocolate pieces, spread the buttered bread with marmalade or jam. The combinations are endless.

The photos here are of the pud after I sprinkled it with sugar and placed it under the grill for 10 minutes to give that extra crunch and caramelisation. It is not necessary to grill it and so the whole can be completed in the Thermomix.

You need to have a bowl that fits into the Varoma in a steady and secure manner to prevent it tipping. I placed a lid from a Pyrex casserole on another dish, but play around with what you have at hand. If you are not going to grill it then it need not be ceramic or metal.

Please try it out - you could even try steaming on top of the stove for this one if you don't have the Thermomix and you don't have an oven.

Good luck and please report any failures.




Bread & Butter Pudding in the Varoma

Ingredients:

6 thin slices of buttered bread (or equivalent) with crusts removed
Dried fruit or marmalade if using

Custard:
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp sugar (vanilla sugar is good)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (if not using vanilla sugar)
1 1/2 cups milk ( or 1 cup milk & 1/2 cup cream for extra richness)

Cream for serving

Method:

Cut bread into triangles and spread with marmalade or jam (if using). Layer bread in buttered dish, sprinkling with sugar, dried fruit and peel, chocolate or whatever combination, between layers. I tend to place pieces of bread on end to have little peaks popping out the top.


Custard:
Place eggs, yolks, sugar, vanilla and milk/cream into Thermomix bowl. Mix for 15 seconds on speed 3. Pour mixture carefully over the buttered bread and allow to settle for a minute or two. Cover with plastic film, or if using a suitable bowl you can place a lid on top.

Lightly clean out the Thermomix bowl and add 750ml of water. Place thermomix bowl on top and place Varoma above in postion. Place dish with pudding into Varoma and cover.

Set Thermomix to 20 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 3. The timing will depend on the depth of the dish used and so check at this stage for a shallow dish. Mine was cooked at this time. It may take another 5 - 25 minutes and the custard should be set and the pudding fluffy.

If you wish to have a crusty top then turn on your grill and allow it to warm up. Carefully remove the pudding from the steamy Varoma and leave on a place mat for a couple of minutes. gently remove the plastic cover or lid and sprinkle with some sugar. (Think of the exercise you will need to do to get this off your hips). Place the dish under the grill and watch carefully to ensure that it browns and does not burn.

While the pudding is grilling or simply resting, clean the Thermomix bowl out with cold water and dry thoroughly. Insert the butteflyand pour at least 200ml of cream into the bowl. Whip it at speed 4 until thick. You may need to scrape down the cream from the side of the bowl. Don't let it whip too much or you will have butter to spread over your pudding.

Enjoy.