Sir Michael Caine’s Bread & Butter Pudding

  Posted on May 23, 2012  by Leslie Blythe  5 comments

Not many people know this about me, but I love Michael Caine.  I have loved him for decades.  I think he is one of the great actors of all time.  Ditto Gene Hackman, he’s the American version of Michael Caine, as far as I am concerned.  I have had his bread and butter pudding recipe for years.  It was published in The Times (London) magazine section.  What appealed to me, besides Michael Caine, was his use of bananas.  I collect recipes with bananas, another thing that most people don’t know about.  It seems to be an excessive amount of bread, but if Michael Caine likes it with 30 slices, then that’s how we’re having it!

Sir Michael Caine’s Bread & Butter Pudding

Serves 8 – 10

9 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 cup golden raisins
¾ cup dark rum
4 cups milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup plus 2 Tbs dark brown sugar
30 slices of white bread
6 ripe bananas, peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices
½ pint whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 325˚.  Grease a 14 cup glass baking dish with one tablespoon of butter.

Soak the raisins in a ½ cup of the rum.

Combine the milk, eggs, remaining rum and ¼ cup of the sugar.  Set aside.

Butter one side of each slice of bread.  Dip each slice into the egg mixture and arrange in the baking dish.  Alternate the layers of bread with layers of the bananas sprinkled with raisins and 1 tablespoon of sugar.  There should be 5 layers of bread and 4 of bananas.

Pour any of the remaining egg mixture over all and bake it for one hour.  Place under the broiler for about 5 minutes, or until brown.  Whip the cream with the remaining sugar and serve with the warm pudding.