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Hot Cross Bun Bread And Butter Pudding With Ready Made Custard
Creamy and delightful bread and butter pudding made with shop-bought hot cross buns and ready-made custard. Wondering what to make this Easter? How about this!
I always get excited about eating bread and butter pudding made with hot cross buns. I mean, who wouldn’t? It’s fluffy, chocolatey and the taste is incredible!
Hot cross buns are halved, buttered, layered with chocolate chips and baked in a ready-made custard mixture. Oh my, the taste is insane and this Easter dessert is both quick and easy.
I really can’t wait for you to try this recipe! It’s a great way to use up any leftover chocolate or hot cross buns over the Easter period.
Why You’ll Like This Recipe
Using hot cross buns to make bread and butter pudding adds a warm, citrusy and spicy flavour and that is why I love this version! Below are a few reasons why you’ll like this recipe too:
- A traditional and popular dessert with an Easter twist
- It’s creamy and fluffy and the taste is a chocolate and custard combo
- This easy bread and butter pudding recipe uses ready made custard and shop-bought hot cross buns
- It’s so quick and easy
- Only 6 ingredients
Watch How To Make It
Which Custard Should I Use?
The type or brand of custard you use is completely up to you! I prefer using Ambrosia custard, especially their deluxe version. I think it’s the creamiest and most luxurious custard ever, which makes this dessert taste rich and indulgent.
You can also use the popular Bird’s Custard powder, you’ll have to prepare the instant custard according to packet instructions before making this recipe.
Regardless of which custard you use, using shop-bought custard makes this bread and butter pudding recipe (with hot cross buns) so easy and the process so smooth.
Recipe Ingredients
Below are the 6 ingredients needed to make this recipe:
- Hot Cross Buns: I used classic supermarket hot cross buns but there are so many different flavours you can use like ‘extra fruity hot cross buns’ or ‘lemon and white chocolate hot cross buns’ – a few options I’ve seen on the shelves.
- Custard: Using readymade custard saves so much time and makes this recipe so easy. I like to use a tin of Ambrosia Custard, but you can also make your own custard with custard powder.
- Milk: I like to use whole milk, this helps to reduce the thickness of the ready-made custard mixture.
- Butter: The hot cross buns are sliced in half and buttered with spreadable butter.
- Chocolate Chips: Adding chocolate chips is optional but it does create a delicious chocolate flavour. You don’t have to use chocolate chips, you can use spare Easter chocolate or any type of chocolate you have.
- Vanilla Extract: Adding vanilla extract is optional but it does make this dessert incredibly tasty.
How To Make Easy Hot Cross Bun Bread And Butter Pudding
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to make this easy Easter hot cross buns pudding. Full recipe instructions are on the recipe card:
Step One:
Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C Fan, gas mark 4) and grease a baking dish with butter.
Cut the hot cross buns in half and butter both sides. Place the bottom halves inside the greased baking dish and sprinkle half of the chocolate chips on top.
Step Two:
Place the remaining hot cross buns on top of the chocolate chips.
Step Three:
To make the custard whisk together ready-made custard, milk and vanilla extract until evenly combined.
Step Four:
Pour the custard mixture over the sandwiched hot cross buns and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.
Step Five:
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with icing sugar, serve and enjoy!
How To Serve Hot Cross Bun (Bread And Butter) Pudding
I like to serve this dish with extra single cream drizzled on top (you can never have too much cream). If you have extra custard leftover, then you can drizzle extra custard on top too!
If you’re feeling fancy, serve this dessert with homemade Biscoff ice cream or this honeycomb ice cream. It will make this pudding extremely indulgent and perfect for dinner parties and special occasions.
Adding fruit like diced strawberries or blueberries adds a nice finishing touch and cooling contrast.
My Top Tips
I like to buy hot cross buns that are closer to their best-before date. I also leave the buns to go stale overnight, this helps create the best texture.
If you want the hot cross buns to really soak in the custard filling, you can leave the dish out on the side for 10 to 15 minutes before baking it in the oven. It does add a couple minutes to the recipe time but makes a tasty difference to the texture.
Make sure you pour the custard mixture evenly across the hot cross buns, otherwise some parts of this pudding will be dry whilst other sections will be moist.
Recipe Variations
Increase the flavours in the dish with a couple variations I’ve listed below:
Make marmalade hot cross bun pudding: Slice the hot cross buns in half and spread both sides with marmalade before sandwiching it together and covering it with custard. This adds extra flavour and another dimension of flavour.
Add Cinnamon To The Custard: A great way to add extra flavour is to add spices like cinnamon or nutmeg to the custard mixture.
Make Chocolate Hot Cross Buns Bread And Butter Pudding: Simply add 100g of melted chocolate and 1 tbsp of cocoa powder to the custard mixture. Butter the halved hot cross buns and sprinkle chocolate chips in the middle.
Easter Flavours: You can stick with Easter flavours by grating orange peel and adding raisins to this recipe.
Don’t Have Hot Cross Buns? If you don’t have hot cross buns, no problem! You can use fruit bread or panettone.
How To Make This Dessert Gluten Free
Making this recipe gluten free is actually so easy! All you have to do is swap the hot cross buns with your favourite gluten-free alternative or make your own from scratch.
I’ve seen many gluten-free hot cross buns in numerous supermarkets, so there’s plenty to choose from.
How To Store Hot Cross Bread And Butter Pudding
If there’s any hot cross bread and butter pudding leftover (shock horror!), you can keep it for later.
To store, place any leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to eat it, I recommend warming it in the microwave until hot.
If you want to keep this dessert for longer than 3 days, then you’re better off freezing it. To freeze, place the dessert in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost in the fridge then microwave until hot.
More Easter Recipes
Who doesn’t love a tasty Easter dessert, I for sure am a BIG fan. I’ve listed a few must-make Easter recipes below:
- Shredded Wheat Nests
- Mini Egg Cookies
- Cornflake Easter Nests
- Mini Egg Tiffin
- Easter Egg Cheesecake
- Mini Egg Cookie Bars
- Mini Egg Brownies
FAQs
If your bread and butter pudding is soggy, it’s either underbaked or the bread used isn’t stale enough. A great way to prevent this is to toast your bread in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes before starting the recipe.
Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday as it symbolises when Jesus was crucified in the Christian religion.
Usually bread and butter pudding is served warm or hot. However, you can have this dessert hot, at room temperature or even cold. This is up to your personal preference.
Hot Cross Bun Bread And Butter Pudding
Ingredients
- 6 Hot Cross Buns
- 400 ml Custard (1 Tin)
- 150 ml Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 50 g Butter
- 100 g Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C Fan, gas mark 4) and grease a baking dish with butter.
- Cut the hot cross buns in half and butter both sides.
- Place the bottom halves inside the greased baking dish and sprinkle half of the chocolate chips on top.
- Place the remaining hot cross buns on top of the chocolate chips.
- To make the custard whisk together ready-made custard, milk and vanilla extract until evenly combined.
- Pour the custard mixture over the sandwiched hot cross buns and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with icing sugar, serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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Leonora
I like this recipe, I’m going to make it again this weekend.
Michelle
Thanks Leonora!