Nigella Lawson brought bread & butter pudding to The Great British Bake Off – here's how to make it

Lucy Roxburgh – food and drink expert

Published: October 20, 2026 at 9:30 PM

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You'll be craving a pudding after this week's episode of The Great British Bake Off

Week five of The Great British Bake Off marked a big moment – we're halfway through! The hotly debated Dessert Week or Pudding Week was timed perfectly as the weather begins to change and we're entering peak autumn dessert season. It's time to get cosy and bake hearty puds ready to be covered in generous pourings of custard and cream.

The opening signature challenge was to make eight individual self-saucing puddings. Think chocolate fondants, apple crumble-inspired upside down puds and a lot of chocolate orange, including one handshake-worthy number that mesmerised Paul.

We've got a whole collection of generous self-saucing pudding recipes that will easily feed the whole family and skip the faff of individual puds. Indulge a real sweet tooth with this self-saucing butterscotch pudding or channel the handshake-worthy flavours of the episode with this Jaffa pudding, baked with plenty of milk chocolate and fresh orange. I also have a real soft spot for this easy squidgy chocolate pear pudding – I've been waiting for cosy season to return to make it again!

Several of the bakers opted to go for individual chocolate fondants – check out our collection that covers both the classic and flavour twists including peanut butter, pecans and coffee.

The gingham pantry made a return in the technical set by queen Nigella. "There’s nothing complicated about a bread and butter pudding and that is one of its joys," she proclaimed as she set the bakers the challenge of picking their own flavour twists on this retro pud, with the warning not to overwhelm a classic. We've stuck to that advice with our classic bread and butter pudding below – soaked in a rich vanilla custard and sprinkled with sultanas, dried fruit and a touch of lemon zest for brightness. It reheats well and also can be made ahead so it can easily slot into your weekend plans. Serve with a drizzle of cream for extra decadence.

Dessert Week ended with a fun yet mammoth challenge for the bakers. Not just one dessert, they were tasked with making a dessert trolley full of individual retro inspired puddings, with at least three different desserts and 4.5 hours to complete it. Nigella is in a flurry of excitement and the finishing results certainly left us craving puddings, with everything from pavlova and crème brûlée to sticky toffee pudding and trifle dished up.

We can't wait to tune in next week for more comforting bakes in Pastry Week – perhaps with a bowl of bread and butter pudding to eat as we watch.

Bread & butter pudding

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

Top tips for the perfect bread & butter pudding:

If you’d like to make your bread and butter pudding a little more indulgent and boozy, I recommend soaking the dried fruit in a couple of tablespoons of brandy, whisky or rum before layering it into the dish.
I like to use slightly stale bread for this pudding, as it absorbs the custard more evenly without becoming too soft. Brioche, challah or buttery croissants all make delicious alternatives for an extra-indulgent version.
You can prepare the pudding ahead of time by assembling it and letting it soak in the fridge for a few hours, or even overnight. This allows the custard to really soak into the bread, resulting in a richer, creamier texture.
If you have any leftovers, I find the pudding reheats well the next day. Simply cover with foil and warm through in a low oven, or enjoy it cold with a dollop of cream or a scoop of ice cream.

Ingredients

250ml/9 fl oz full-fat milk
300ml/½ pint double cream
1 vanilla pod, halved and seeds scraped out, or 1 tsp vanilla extract
3 whole large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
3 tbsp/40g golden caster sugar
8 slices of day-old white crusty bread
50g/2oz slightly salted butter, softened plus extra for greasing
75g/2½ oz mix sultanas and currants or other dried fruit
zest ½ lemon
2 tbsp/25g demerara sugar

Method

To make the custard, heat the milk, cream and vanilla pod with its scraped out seeds (if using) together in a saucepan to just below boiling point. Meanwhile whisk the eggs and yolk with the caster sugar in a jug. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture, including the vanilla pod, over the eggs, stirring constantly until smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract now if using.
Lightly butter an ovenproof dish approximately 20cm x 25cm x 5cm. Cut the crusts from the bread slices, then butter both sides of the bread and cut into triangles. Lay half of the bread slices in the bottom of the dish so that they are slightly overlapping. Mix the dried fruit with the lemon zest and sprinkle half of the mix over the bread. Layer the rest of the bread on top then sprinkle over the remaining fruit.
Heat oven to 180C/160C/gas 4. Remove the vanilla pod from the custard then pour the custard over the pudding. Leave to soak for at least 30 mins, or longer in the fridge, if you like. Sprinkle over the demerara and bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown and puffed up.

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