Easter is for chocolate hunts, enjoying cooler days and most importantly sharing food, so I have created this delicious recipe for a Brioche Hot Cross Bun, Chocolate and Pear Pudding to share with the Galleria community.

The combination of chocolate, pear, custard and brioche is absolute perfection and a real crowd pleaser. This pudding is enough for a bigger group so, if you are only feeding a few, simply cut the ingredients in half.

There are so many delicious hot cross buns available at Galleria- yummy choc chip buns at Bakers Delight, fruitless buns from Coles am so many more.

Ultimately it was the soft golden brioche buns from Woolies is the hero of this recipe- they are glazed and brown on the top as you cook (be careful with your oven temperature!). It’s great to see the days starting to cool off as we slide into Autumn and towards Winter. It’s the perfect season for creating a warm pudding for your people. 

Happy Easter!

Kate

Serves: 9-12

INGREDIENTS

• 12 Brioche Hot Cross Buns, halved - Woolworths
• 200g dark chocolate, chopped - Woolworths or Coles
• 3-4 pears, cored and thinly sliced - Morley Fresh
• 40g butter, for greasing - Woolworths or Coles

CUSTARD INGREDIENTS

• 8 eggs Woolworths or Coles
• 400ml milk Woolworths or Coles
• 400ml pouring cream (Woolworths or Coles
• 1 tsp vanilla essence (Woolworths or Coles
• ½ cup brown sugar (Woolworths or Coles

METHOD

Preheat oven to 160°C.

• To prepare custard, add ingredients to a medium bowl, whisk well to combine. Set aside.
• Grease 37cm x 25cm baking dish with butter.
• Line base of dish with bottom halves of hot cross buns.
• Sprinkle ⅔ of the chopped chocolate over the halved hot cross buns.
• Pour over half of the custard mixture.
• Arrange 9 hot cross bun tops over the bottom halves, leaving a little space in between for the pear.
• Tuck pear slices evenly in between the bun tops and sprinkle the pudding with remaining chocolate.
• Pour the remaining custard mix evenly over the bun tops.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes, until custard has risen between the hot cross buns and is set. 
• Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving. 

COOK’S NOTES

• Halve recipe for a smaller group
• Try white chocolate rather than dark if you prefer

STYLING NOTES

I played with layers for this image of our lovely Easter pudding. I started with a lighter grey cotton tablecloth, followed by a darker fringed table runner and then a knitted napkin under the bowl of pudding. The cutlery is a lovely Autumnal, muted copper tone which matches in with the pretty pears pictured with the dish.

Have a play at home with textures and layers to get your table looking inviting this Easter. I love using fresh produce to decorate a table and while I wouldn’t toss them down like I did for the picture, you could certainly use a bowl of golden pears as a centrepiece!

• Table Cloth Home - Target
• AH&G Fringed Table Runner- Myer
• Heritage Avenue Large Baker - Myer
• Vue Spencer Cutlery, rose gold, Myer
• Ladelle Dish Cloth 3pck - Myer
• Fresh Pears - Morley Fresh
• Rectangular Tray - Kmart
• Cereal Bowls - Target