Hot Cross Bread & Butter Pudding

Lightly grease a round baking dish about 26cm in diameter. Next, make a custard; crack the eggs into a large bowl and beat together briefly, then whisk in the sugar a little at a time until it is well combined. Pour the cream and milk into a large pan and place it over a low-medium heat, stirring gently until it is almost at simmering point, then take the milk mixture off the heat and add it gradually to the eggs and sugar, whisking as you go. Stir in the vanilla extract and grate in the orange zest.

Cut the buns in half. Spread each half generously with the softened butter and then a good layer of the marmalade, then sandwich the buns back together. Set one bun aside and leave it whole, then cut the rest of them in half to give 14 semi-circles. Take your baking dish and put the whole bun in the centre, then arrange the half-buns in a circle around it (in a sort of sun-ray pattern). Pour the custard over the buns, then set the dish aside to let the custard soak in for about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 160°C (Gas Mark 3) and put a baking sheet on the middle shelf to heat up.

When the buns have had their soaking time, give them a gentle press down into the remaining custard and then place the dish carefully on to the hot baking sheet. Bake the pudding for about 35 minutes, or until the custard is just set. Put a tablespoon of marmalade into a small pan and melt it over a low-medium heat, stirring, until it is liquid. Take the cooked pudding out of the oven and brush all over the top with the marmalade, then leave the dish to rest for 10 minutes before serving.