Chocolate, Rum and Raisin Bread and Butter Pudding

A proper winter warmer cooked low and slow in your pizza oven. Rich dark chocolate custard soaks into layers of buttered bread, spiked with dark rum and studded with plump raisins. The oven gives it a slightly smoky, crusty top that a kitchen oven simply cannot replicate.

The key to this pudding is patience. The bread needs to soak overnight in the chocolate custard - this is not a recipe you can rush. But the reward is a pudding that is intensely chocolatey, boozy, and utterly comforting. Make it on Christmas Eve and bake it on Christmas Day while the oven is still warm from the main event.

Ingredients

• 7-8 slices white bread
• 4 medium eggs
• 200g good quality dark chocolate
• 50g unsalted butter
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 400ml double cream
• 75ml dark spiced rum
• Large handful of raisins

Method

1. Cut or tear the bread into quarters. Layer in a deep ovenproof dish (about 30 x 25cm), overlapping slightly so the bread reaches near the top.
2. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and set aside.
3. Set a bowl over simmering water. Add the chocolate, butter and sugar, stirring until melted and smooth. Mix in the cream, rum and raisins. Remove from the heat and stir in the eggs until fully blended.
4. Pour the chocolate custard over the bread, pressing down with a spoon to ensure the bread absorbs as much liquid as possible. Cover with cling film, weigh down with something heavy, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
5. When ready to cook, remove the weight and cling film. Slide the dish into your pizza oven at a medium heat - you want a gentle cook, not a blast.
6. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, covering with foil if the top starts to catch. Rotate the dish halfway through.
7. The top should be slightly crusty and the centre still wobbling gently. Serve hot with rum and raisin ice cream or a generous dollop of creme fraiche.