The Classic British Dessert Princess Diana Adored

When we discussed the British royal family's favorite drinks, we discovered that Princess Diana might occasionally down a peach bellini, although she was partial to fresh-squeezed fruit juices. Another of the princess's culinary loves? A quintessentially British bread-and-butter pudding that her private chef, Darren McGrady, would prepare for her at Kensington Palace. After her much-publicized divorce from then-Prince Charles (now King Charles III), Princess Diana retired to Kensington Palace with her two sons and lived what was, by all accounts, a remarkably casual and informal life for a royal. Today, the royal family still avoids eating with their hands, but Diana was, as per McGrady, quite laid-back about protocol.

This spin on bread pudding is down-to-Earth and relatable, just like the Princess herself was known to be. It consists of buttered white bread soaked in vanilla custard and baked after being studded with amaretto-soaked raisins. McGrady shared that, when Diana entered the kitchen, instead of demanding curtseys from staff, she'd often make a cup of coffee and chat. If McGrady was making the bread pudding, she might even steal a raisin or two! Just to keep things a touch royal, the topmost layers of bread in the pudding were arranged in points — as opposed to the cubed slices at the base — leading to an elegant shingled effect. We've seen this dish compared to soufflé or crème brûlée, but we can't help noticing that it's also quite similar to a dessert-ified French toast casserole.

On the list of foods the royal family never eats, sandwiches with crusts are a "duh" inclusion. Of course kings and queens eat dainty sandos. Princess Diana's bread-and-butter pudding was also crust-free as made by chef Darren McGrady, but we won't kick you out of our tea party if you served a crusty bread as the basis of your own spin on the dish. The custard is a pretty standard one, with egg yolks, vanilla, sugar, and dairy, but here is where we think you have room to riff a little bit. Some brown sugar, we think, would add a lovely depth of flavor, and who would turn up their nose at a little cinnamon, to really play up those French toast comparisons? A vanilla sweet cream would not only combine ingredients, but might kick the sugary savor of your pudding up to a 10. If you have a real sweet tooth, this is a no-brainer! 

McGrady has stated that he was known to zhuzh up the bread pudding with slivered almonds for presentation, but we believe the topping possibilities are nearly endless. Fresh whipped cream would be an absolute delight, or maybe a homemade caramel to drizzle over the comparatively-drier toast points up top? Of course, you could always sprinkle over some powdered sugar and call it a day. This dessert is perfect for when you have a loaf of bread that's about to go stale and you want to salvage it into something delicious. It tastes and looks bougie, but it's actually simple enough for a weeknight treat that will put you in mind of one of the 20th century's most famous and elegant public-facing women.