This lovely Bread and Butter Hot Cross Bun Pudding uses an old-fashioned pudding recipe to add a little magic to traditional hot cross buns.

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Making Hot Cross Buns special again
Queen Elizabeth I considered Hot Cross Buns so holy that they were only allowed to be sold on Good Friday, at Christmas and at burials. Accordingly, people caught baking hot cross buns outside of this time would have to give all of the buns to the poor.
I wonder how the big supermarkets would react to that idea being re-introduced?
Hot Cross Buns aren't so holy or special these days. Indeed, we shake our heads and take to social media to vent our frustrations when major supermarkets start stocking these buns from Boxing Day.
"Crazy!" we say as we watch commercialism eat away at the little buns many have long held sacred.
What to do? Well, here's one idea. Make them extra special again by turning them into an old-fashioned dessert pudding.
How to make Bread and Butter Hot Cross Bun Pudding
Start with the hot cross buns – any variety is fine, but I always think the traditional verson is best with this recipe.
Simply cut the buns into three pieces, with a top, middle and bottom. Next, butter the pieces and arrange in a greased baking dish.
The remaining ingredients include:
- milk powder
- sugar
- vanilla extract
- boiling water
- eggs.
Ingredient quantities can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Mix the remaining ingredients together and pour over your hot cross buns.
Next, place the baking dish in a larger dish filled with 1-2cm of water and bake at 190 degrees celsius/375 degrees celsius for half an hour.
Enjoying your pudding
Once baked, the pudding is best served immediately with a little ice-cream. Magic!
Alternatively, store this in the fridge, covered, for up to a few days and re-heat (or eat it cold).
More Easter Recipes
Check out these other popular Easter recipes:
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Bread and Butter Hot Cross Bun Pudding
Equipment
- medium-sized baking dish (approx 28 x 23 cm)
Ingredients
- 4 hot cross buns (approx 290 grams)
- 60 grams butter
- 1 ½ cup milk powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups boiling water
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 190 degrees celsius.
- Grease a medium-sized baking dish (approx 28 x 23 cm).
- Slice hot cross bun into three pieces (top, middle, bottom) and spread each piece with butter. Layer pieces in the baking dish, using the tops as the top layer.
- Combine remaining ingredients and whisk until frothy.
- Pour mixture over hot cross buns.
- Place baking dish into a larger baking dish filled with 1-2cm of water.
- Place into oven and cook for 30 minutes.
- Once cooked, remove from oven and serve warm with ice cream.
Rana Hunter
Well I doubled the recipe, didn’t quite use all the custard mix and it was really delicious. I think you probably don’t need quite as much sugar (personal preference), but the custard was beautifully smooth and this would be perfect on a cold night. Was my first time making this pudding, and whilst I was not keen to try it, I’m very glad I did. Thanks
Libby
Hi Rana. Sorry for the delay in replying! Seems you sorted it all out and enjoyed the pudding. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback and a rating - much appreciated. Happy cooking 🙂 Libby
Rana Hunter
Hi Libby, am going to make today for lunch, if I double the recipe, do I need 8 eggs?? Just seems like a lot. Thanks, Rana
Suellyn Bell
Absolutely delicious. Made this last night using left over milk power from Christmas baking. Just had another serve cold, and it was just as yummy. Thank you Libby for another wonderful recipe.
Libby
So thrilled to hear this!! Enjoy Suellyn and thanks so much for leaving this lovely comment and review 🙂