Air Fryer
Air Fryer Bread and Butter Pudding
Crisp golden tops and set custard underneath. Why the bread has to be stale, why it needs an hour in the fridge, and when to take the foil off.
Ingredients
- 6 thick slices of white bread, left out overnight to dry
- 6 tbsp butter, softened
- 430ml whole milk
- 3 large eggs
- 60g golden caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 60g sultanas
- Freshly grated nutmeg
Method
- Check your dish fits inside the air fryer basket with room around it before you start.
- Butter all six slices of bread on one side, right to the crusts, and cut each in half diagonally.
- Layer the triangles into a greased dish, overlapping them in rows, scattering the sultanas between the layers as you go.
- Whisk the milk, eggs, caster sugar, vanilla and cinnamon together into a custard.
- Pour it evenly over the bread and grate nutmeg over the top.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour so the bread soaks up the custard properly.
- Cover with foil and air fry at 165°C (330°F) for 32 minutes, then take the foil off and cook for another 8 until the tops are deep golden and crisp.
- Let it sit for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Stale bread, not fresh. Leave it out overnight. Fresh bread collapses into mush the moment the custard hits it.
- The hour in the fridge is not optional. It is what lets the custard soak into the bread rather than sitting round it — skip it and you get soggy bread floating in sweet milk.
- Foil on for most of the cook, off for the last 8 minutes. The exposed bread tops sit close to the element and will burn long before the custard sets.
- Butter the bread, not the dish alone. The butter is what crisps the exposed tops into the best bit of the pudding.
- Resting for 15 minutes lets the custard finish setting. Serve it straight away and it runs.
- Air fryer models vary. Treat the times as a guide, go by colour and crispness, and adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Watch it
More Air Fryer Desserts
Air fryer models vary in power and basket size, so treat the times here as a guide — go by colour and crispness rather than the clock, and adjust the seasoning and glaze to your taste.
Recipe source: Quantities and method from Cosori UK (cosori.co.uk): 6 thick slices of white bread left out overnight to dry, buttered and shingled in a loaf dish with 60g sultanas, covered with a custard of 430ml whole milk, 3 large eggs, 60g golden caster sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 3/4 tsp cinnamon and grated nutmeg, refrigerated for an hour, then baked at 165°C (330°F) for 40 minutes with foil on, removed for the last 8. Corroborated against Cole and Mason UK and The English Kitchen, who bake at 160-180°C (320-355°F) for 15-40 minutes depending on dish depth, and who also rest the pudding before serving.