Mamina’s bread cake

Philippe Castaing is owner of Opus Café and the Upstairs Bar and Restaurant in Brixton - both of which are run along sustainability principles. Philippe is a London Leader for sustainability and an advisor on greener food use in London.

"This is a French version of the English pudding and is perfect for leftover bread, fruits, and spreads or jams.

Download Philip Castaing’s Mamina's bread cake recipe - PDF (340k)

Ingredients

• Old bread

• Milk

• Eggs

• Sugar

The best bread would be white bread, but you can use also croissants, brioche and any other type of breads (the older the better).

Method

Cut the bread in big pieces and put in a salad bowl.

Warm the milk (enough to cover the bread). Wait for the bread to soften (add more milk if it is not soft enough). Mix and break down by hand into a nice soft texture.

Beat four or five eggs in a separate bowl (the more bread and milk, the more eggs). Incorporate the eggs with the bread, add two large spoons of crème fraiche (or three of double cream), adding sugar to taste In winter use dried fruits, like raisins or prunes, soaked in rum (boiled in water for kids).

In summer use over ripe fruits cut in fruit salad size bits. Add the fruits to the bread mix, and taste in case you need to add sugar. Butter a deep baking dish and sprinkle a little flour so it does not stick (turn over the dish to get rid of any excess flour). Fill the bottom of the dish with a layer of the bread mix, add a layer of the leftover jam or spread, and then finish with another layer of the bread mix. Add blobs of butter across the dish. Put in a pre-heated oven (180C) for about 45 minutes.

To check when Mamina’s cake is ready, stick a knife to the heart of it, when you take the blade out it should be hot. It is both delicious warm and cold, served with some fruit coulis or custard if you have or a la natural. Enjoy."