Nigella's Ginger Bread and Butter Pudding

This recipe is adapted from Nigella's recipe. I love ginger, so I always find new ways of adding a little bit more to my dishes. For this one I added some crystallized ginger to the brown sugar topping. Delicious!

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter (1 tablespoon to grease the baking dish, and 5 tablespoons to spread in the sandwiches)
1/3 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons dark rum
8-10 slices brown bread (with crusts)
10 tablespoons ginger preserves
3 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped finely

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a shallow (1 1/2-quarts capacity) baking dish with a little butter.

Soak the raisins in the rum in a small bowl for a few minutes, then microwave for about 1 minute. This technique really helps the raisins soak up the rum.

Mincemeat Crumble

From a recipe by Nigel Slater

This is a rich and comforting dessert which is chockerful of intense fruit flavour. A generous portion of Bird's custard is a must!

2-3 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thinly 

1 1/4 cups good mincemeat (Robertsons)

a large banana, sliced

juice of an orange

3/4 cup flour

2/3 cup butter 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Put the sliced apples in an ovenproof bowl, and stir in the mincemeat, the banana and the orange juice. 
3. Pulse the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor for a few seconds, or work them into a crumble texture with your fingers for a few minutes. 
4. Add a few drops of water and mix in with a fork, so that some of the crumbs stick together. 
5. Top the fruit mixture with the crumble, and bake till crisp on top, for about 25-30 minutes.