Hot cross bun bread and butter pudding

Prep the hot cross buns

1. Slice each hot cross bun horizontally as you would for making a sandwich. Put the six top halves to the side for now.
2. Butter each bottom half with one teaspoon of butter, followed by two teaspoons of shredless marmalade each.
3. Sandwich the top and bottom halves back together.
4. Put the 6 sandwiched hot cross buns in a baking dish. The size of the dish is quite important. The 6 buns need to fit snuggly but not so much that the buns are squashed out of shape. The dish also needs to be high enough to accommodate the custard filling that will be poured over later.For reference, we use an oven dish of 25cm x 18cm x 5cm.

Make the custard

1. Add the eggs and sugar to a bowl. Whisk together until well combined.
2. Add the vanilla extract and the orange zest. Briefly whisk again
3. Add the cream and milk to a saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat.
4. Warm up the milk mixture, being careful not to let it come to a full simmer.
5. Watch for the first tiny bubbles to appear on the sides of the pan. Once you see these bubbles, immediately remove the pan from the heat.
6. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the bowl with the eggs.It won't thicken at this point, the thickening will occur in the oven during baking.

Assemble the pudding

1. Pour the custard mixture over the hot cross buns in the baking dish.
2. Use a fork to gently separate the hot cross buns from the sides and each other, allowing the custard mixture to spread evenly.
3. Gently press down on the hot cross buns to allow the custard to soak the tops as well.It's normal for the buns not to stay completely submerged in the custard mixture, so don't worry about it.
4. Important: Leave the pudding for a minimum of 30 minutes to absorb the custard mixture.
5. Preheat the oven to 170C/338F/gas mark 3.
6. Optionally, sprinkle a small handful of raisins over the pudding.
7. Put the pudding inside a larger oven dish.
8. Fill the larger dish halfway with boiling water, creating a water bath (also known as a bain-marie).
9. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the custard is set. If the top is browning too fast, cover it loosely with a piece of foil.
10. Put the additional tablespoon of marmalade in a microwave-safe dish. Heat the marmalade in the microwave for 30 seconds.
11. Using a pastry brush, apply the heated marmalade over the top of the baked pudding to create a shiny glaze.
12. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream, some custard or a dollop of cream.