Joanna’s amazing Maltese Bread Pudding
Fruity, sticky and juicy, that's what comes to my mind when I think of Joanna Bonnici's Maltese Bread Pudding. I loved its richness, stuffed with sweet Mediterranean flavours, like tangerine and orange, the bread mixture enhanced by the aromas of nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon, coconut and whiskey. I got hooked on it after the first bite and couldn't stop cutting piece after piece off this cakey juiciness!
When I met Joanna at her house a few days ago for the meet in your kitchen feature, I was so excited to see her, but I must admit that I had been looking forward to trying her famous pudding for days! Her kind and welcoming character, her big smile made me feel at home straight away. We sat down in her garden, enjoyed a cup of coffee and a slice of her pudding for breakfast and it felt like we had known each other for years! She made us feel so comfortable that, when I finished the first slice of this wonderful sweet, I didn't feel shy to ask for another one!
As I got home I shared another piece with my Maltese Mama Jenny, a true bread pudding connoisseur. We sat down together in her kitchen, prepared for our sweet tasting. Jenny could only agree, she said it was the best Maltese bread pudding that she had ever tasted!
Maltese Bread Pudding
Makes 1 large pudding
stale rolls or panini, torn into bite sized chunks, 6 (about 500g / 17 1/2oz)
fresh milk 1l / 4 1/4 cups
mixed dried fruit 250g / 9 ounces
orange, juice and zest, 1
desiccated coconut 3 tablespoons
dates, chopped, 100g / 3.5 ounces
apricot jam or marmalade (or whatever there is in the pantry) 2 tablespoons
granulated sugar 3 tablespoons
cocoa powder 2 tablespoons
a pinch of nutmeg
a pinch of vanilla
a pinch of cinnamon
tangerine zest 1 teaspoon
amaretto di Saronno (or whiskey) 2 tablespoons
Mix the milk, orange juice, vanilla, amaretto and marmalade. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and add the milk-orange mixture. Mix with your fingers and let it soak for an hour.
Set the oven to 180°C / 355°F and line a 23 x 28 x 4cm / 9 x 11 x 1 1/2" baking dish with parchment paper.
Fill the pudding mixture into the lined baking dish and bake in the oven until the top of the pudding is firm, just starting to be springy. Insert a skewer to check if the pudding is done. (Joanna does it by feeling, she can’t say the exact baking time, it also varies depending on the rolls, but it takes about 65-75 minutes for me when I bake it.)
May be served with warm custard or on its own with a cup of tea.
