Croissant Pudding recipe

One of the biggest food revelations I’ve had in the last few years is discovering frozen croissants. I didn’t know they existed until a shop assistant told me about them because the supermarket had run out of fresh ones. She said that her family loved them and preferred them to ready baked croissants. I love this woman for showing me the light! I’ve since found many different kinds of frozen pastries in Tesco, Sainsburys, M&S and Waitrose. They take about 20 minutes to bake and all the varieties are delicious but M&S's and Waitrose’s croissants are the best by some way; they puff up to gargantuan proportions in the oven and are incredibly light and buttery*.

Having said that, I still buy ready made croissants because although they lack that freshly baked taste and light as air texture, I know that if I leave a few to go stale then I can make this lovely pudding. Technically I could use frozen croissants but the drier texture of the ready baked ones is better for this dessert. I grew up eating bread and butter pudding and this is basically a fancy version with chocolate instead of raisins.

When talking about croissant based desserts I have to mention the ultimate recipe, Caramel Croissant Pudding, by Nigella of course. She advises not bothering to eat anything beforehand except maybe a small crunchy salad. It involves a lot of sugar and cream. I made it once and it was amazing but the slightly less decadent recipe I use is by Tom Hunt from The Guardian’s Waste Not section. Chocolate chips are optional but if you have some to dot around the pudding before baking then don’t hesitate.

Cream or ice cream is perfect with this warm pudding but I mostly eat it plain. You don’t have to add alcohol but if you enjoy booze in food then bourbon, rum or brandy will add an extra, delicious layer to the flavours.

* M&S recently changed their frozen croissant recipe - they no longer rise as much and they're saltier - a little too salty even for a savoury-toothed person like myself.