Bread & Butter pudding / Photo by Amy Briden

Head chef’s Va and Francis have continually churned out delicious delights, whilst we soak up how to make the finest Fijian food and squeeze out their culinary skills! It’s fantastic that we are all able to observe what goes on in a Fijian kitchen and contribute in some way or another. It’s also really exciting too that tribe members come to the island with recipes from around the world and share their favourite dishes with Team Kana and the rest of us. Not only does it create a balance of Fijian and Western style cooking, it also means that we are able to give something back to the kitchen and teach the girls something new!

This week we bring you a tasty treat from a long term tribe member Irina Roesch who arrived on Vorovoro in October and although had originally planned to be on the island for a fulfilling 56 days, she felt so much at home that she stayed even longer and became our January chief. She did an incredible job as Marama and put in a lot more than we ever expected and started 2009 with waves of positivity and oomph! So, a whopping big spoonful of thanks to Irina. Vorovoro’s Vale Ni Kuro can now bring you a familiar sweet dish we all know from home, Bread & Butter Pudding!

It’s a brilliant dish for afternoon tea, especially if we have any left over bread and so far, the tribe have gobbled it all up! Team Fiji are also very impressed with the creamy dessert and all of Team Kana are excited to learn another recipe, particularly one that it is so easy to do and full of sugary scrumptiousness! (It’s Vorovoro knowledge that Fijians love their sugar and have a very sweet tooth…did you know that Pupu has three heaped spoonfuls of sugar in his tea and even then it’s not quite enough?!)

Bread & Butter Pudding was first invented to make the most out of old bread so it’s perfect to make if you have any bread that is a day or two old and is getting a little bit too hard…waste not, want not!

Bread & Butter Pudding

Ingredients:

• 20 Slices of Bread (the beauty of this recipe is that you can use any kind of bread; rolls, buns, loaves etc. but is extra tasty with wholemeal)
• 1 cup of Demerara Sugar
• 2 pints of milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of Raisins
• 2 cups of grated or desiccated coconut
• Cinnamon Powder
• A few scoops of Butter/ Margarine

The amount of ingredients varies depending on your baking tray but the amounts above are designed for a square baking tray, 10 inches in length.

Method:

• Firstly, slice up the bread about ½ inch thick
• Thinly spread butter on one side making sure you go right up to the edge!
• Grease the baking tray with butter.
• Then place the slices next to each other, leaning against one side of the baking tray with the butter side facing upwards.
• Then lean another row of slices against the first.
• Repeat until the whole baking tray is full of rows of sliced bread. Cut any left over bits of bread to fill the gaps.
• Sprinkle generously with raisins.

Now for the creamy goodness!

• Pour the milk in a jug and slosh in the eggs.
• Add ¾ of a cup of sugar and roughly 2 desert spoons of cinnamon.
• Stir all together until all the sugar is dissolved.
• Pour the sugary solution over the bread making sure every little bit is covered, leaving half an inch from the top. The bread should be soaked but not swimming in the milk so if you still have some left over, put it to one side for now.
• Scatter 1 ½ cups of grated coconut over the top.

Baking:

Although our Vorovoro oven hasn’t been designed with a temperature gauge; for contemporary styles the pudding is baked at 180˚ C.

• Leave the pudding in for approximately 30-40 mins.
• After this time, take the pudding out and sprinkle the rest of the coconut and sugar on top so it will caramelize together in the heat. If the pudding looks dry, pour over the rest of the milk.
• Then put back in the oven for another 10 minutes until the dish goes golden.
• And to complete the pudding, dust a little cinnamon on top.

Vakarau! Ready!

“Nutmeg and mixed spice can also be added too for that warm, wintery taste! Sliced apple would also work well, placed in between the bread. The best tip is to serve hot, straight from the oven!”

- Irina Roesch, January 2009 Chief

Naka Irina for sharing this delicious dish and for all your help and super food suggestions in the kitchen! We have all learnt a lot and will always remember you when eating wholesome, homemade Bread and Butter Pudding.  In fact, Va has just made some now for afternoon tea and it’s bubbling away in the oven…ooh yes!