Mincemeat Bread and Butter Pudding Recipe

Mincemeat Bread and Butter Pudding is a creamy and comforting festive dessert made with mincemeat, dried fruit, warming spices and custard. This recipe is a Christmassy variation on traditional bread and butter pudding, perfect for using up leftover mincemeat – although I am always happy to start a fresh jar to make it.

Served with more custard, pouring cream or vanilla ice cream, Mincemeat Bread and Butter Pudding makes a delicious finale to any meal – even if it’s not Christmas-time. I almost always have mincemeat on hand, so I often make this dessert in the fall as well. It’s perfectly suited to the cosy season!

Tips for Making This Recipe

If you are not familiar with mincemeat, it is a mixture of currants, raisins, sugar, apples, candied peel, spices and sometimes suet all cooked together. Sometimes brandy or rum is added for flavour. I have an Easy Suet-Free Mincemeat Recipe that I make every year, but store-bought mincemeat works perfectly well for this recipe too.

I use both dried apricots and cranberries in my version, depending on what I have on hand. Dried apricots give a slightly sweeter flavour but dried cranberries are such a fabulous seasonal ingredient I love them in this recipe too. You can also use a mixture of both.

Be sure to let the mincemeat bread and butter pudding stand for 20 to 30 minutes before baking to allow some of the custard to soak into the bread.

Push the dried fruit gently down into the pudding so that it does not burn on the top.

Allow to cool a little after you bring it out of the oven as the custard will be hot. I like to give it about 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Mincemeat Bread and Butter Pudding – Printable Recipe

Created by: April J Harris

Mincemeat Bread and Butter Pudding

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Servings 6

Mincemeat Bread and Butter Pudding is a creamy and comforting festive dessert made with mincemeat, dried fruit, warming spices and custard.

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ⅓ cup chopped ready to eat dried apricots or dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons brandy Cointreau or Grand Mariner
• 12 slices of good white bread or use any other leftover bread
• ⅓ cup butter, softened + extra for greasing the dish
• 1 to 1½ cups mincemeat
• ⅓ cup white sugar
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1¼ cups double cream also known as heavy cream
• ⅔ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond flavouring
• 2 tablespoons demerera sugar
• ½ teaspoon mixed spice optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C or 160°C for a fan oven).
• Butter a large oval or rectangular oven safe casserole that is not too deep. It should be about 12 to 14 inches (20 – 25 cm) long and about 9 to 10 inches (30 – 35cm) wide.
• Put the apricots or dried cranberries in a small bowl and cover them with the brandy, Cointreau or Grand Mariner. Set aside.
• Butter the bread on one side and then use the mincemeat to make six sandwiches. Try to keep the mincemeat in the centre of the bread as you are going to be removing the crusts.
• Cut the crusts off the sandwiches and cut each sandwich diagonally in four triangles.
• Lay the sandwich triangles one by one in the dish, overlapping them slightly. I like to alternate alternate pointed side up with straight side up, but this is strictly optional. You can leave them all pointed side up if you prefer.
• Scatter the dried apricots or cranberries over the bread and pour over any remaining liqueur as well. Gently push the dried fruit down into the bread so it does not burn.
• Beat the eggs and sugar together in a medium bowl.
• Add the cream, milk and vanilla and beat together well.
• Pour the cream and egg mixture slowly over the mincemeat sandwiches and dried fruit, making sure that all the bread is coated with the liquid.
• Leave to stand for 20 to 30 minutes to allow the bread to absorb the liquid.
• Mix the demerera sugar and mixed spice together and sprinkle over the top of the bread and butter pudding.
• Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until the custard is risen and relatively firm. The bread and butter pudding should be golden brown.
• Serve warm with more custard, cream or good vanilla ice cream.

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More Recipes Using Mincemeat

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Mincemeat and Brandy Cake