Ingredients

• 3 oranges
• 300ml/½ pint milk
• 300ml/½ pint double cream
• 1 vanilla pod
• split
• 15 green cardamom pods
• crushed with a pestle and mortar
• 90g/3½oz butter
• softened
• 15 slices white bread
• preferably slightly stale
• 8 free-range eggs
• 175g/6oz caster sugar
• 55g/2oz shelled pistachios
• chopped
• 85g/3¼oz golden sultanas
• 4 tbsp Seville orange marmalade
• strained to remove peel
• icing sugar
• crème fraîche (optional)

Directions

• Remove the zest from the oranges and set the rest of the oranges aside. Pour the milk and cream into a pan
• add the orange zest
• split vanilla pod and crushed cardamoms and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and leave to infuse for one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and place a large roasting tin inside to warm up. The tin should be large enough to hold a 30 x 22 x 5cm/12 x 9 x 2in baking dish with space remaining around the edge.
• Butter the bread and cut it into triangles. Segment the oranges with a sharp knife and discard the peel. Remove the translucent outer skin from each segment
• and discard. Slice each segment in half. Beat the eggs and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Pour the infused milk through a fine sieve onto the egg mixture.
• Arrange a layer of bread
• buttered-side up
• in the baking dish
• then add a layer of pistachio pieces
• sultanas and orange segments. Repeat the layers
• finishing with the bread and making the final layer overlap neatly. Pour the milk-and-egg mixture over the top. Put on a kettle of water to boil.
• Place the dish in the roasting tin in the oven. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting tin to come halfway up the sides of the dish
• taking care not to allow any of the water to go into the pudding. Bake for 30-40 minutes
• or until nearly set through.
• Heat the strained marmalade in a small pan over a gentle heat until liquid
• and use to brush the top of the bread and butter pudding. To serve
• scoop out each portion and dust with icing sugar
• plus a dollop of crème fraîche if you like.