The Best Pudding in the World Ever!

This pudding was inspired by a recipe in a Spanish cookbook which I read in the bookshop recently... We are great fans of anything containing almonds, marzipan and amaretto (liquid marzipan as it's known in our house!). So a dessert which combines all 3...well, we couldn't contain ourselves!!! It's rich, sweet and simply delicious. It really doesn't need anything to accompany it but Andrew isn't his mother's son for nothing and he chose a good glug or three of cream to go with his dishful.

I'd suggest eating this pud on an evening when you're having a salad for dinner. Whatever you do, leave plenty room because you'll need it...

Ingredients

6 dried figs
50ml amaretto liqueur
unsalted butter
250g brioche (thickly sliced)
4 egg yolks
250ml double cream
200ml milk
50g caster sugar
100g marzipan

flaked almonds

(I'm afraid my measurements might not be 100% exact as I didn't write them down as I went along...but it's not really the sort of pudding that needs the measurements to be precise...if you like more figs for example, just add more!)

Method

Roughly chop the dried figs and put them into a pan with the amaretto liqueur and simmer for 5 minutes or so, until the amaretto has evaporated and the figs have plumped up (you can use more if you like or, for a non-alcoholic version try apple juice in place of the amaretto).

Butter both sides of the slices of brioche and tear or cut into large cubes. Mix the brioche, figs and cubes of marzipan and put into a buttered ovenproof dish (my dish was approximately 6 x 8 inches). Mix the liquid ingredients (eggs, milk, cream) with the sugar and pour over the bread mixture. Cover and leave to one side until you are ready to bake.

Bake at around 160C for 30 minutes. Then sprinkle a handful of flaked almonds over the top and bake for another 10 minutes.

Serve warm.