This was Princess Diana’s favorite recipe – a simple bread and butter pudding. Celebrate the Princess with her favorite treat, a cross between bread pudding and creme brûlée.
I remember when I first heard the news that Princess Diana, the people’s princess, was gone. It was my first or second week of college, and everything in my personal realm had changed overnight. I had a roommate, a full class schedule, and my first taste of independence. It was a weird time of transition.
On that grim day, a fellow student popped their head inside my dorm room to announce the news:
“Princess Diana was in a car crash. She’s gone.”
The Loss of a Princess
I still remember the sickening sadness I felt in the pit of my stomach. Like many young women of my generation, I had grown up admiring Princess Diana. She was strong, philanthropic, and gentle. She was beautiful in the most natural, unassuming way. The loss rattled me greatly, probably even more so because I was on my own for the first time. Back home I would have watched the news together with my mom. School had only just started, and the other students were still strangers to me. I felt alone.
I wasn’t the only one. Soon classmates began to gather together on our floor, finding comfort in connecting and sharing their memories of the Princess. A few of us piled into a car and drove to a touristy Western restaurant, where we toasted Diana and watched the news from TV screens flashing above the bar.
Late in the evening, I found some loose change at the bottom of my bag and searched for a payphone (yes, I am that old). I dialed my high school friend, Becky, who had always been a big fan of Diana. Her quivering voice greeted me.
“Why?” she sobbed. “I don’t understand, why?”
There, in the middle of a Western-themed tourist trap through a scratchy-sounding pay phone, Becky and I shared our grief over the late Princess. It was a strange, sad day that I’ll always remember.
Diana, Princess of Wales while at The Leonardo Prize ceremony in 1995. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Princess Diana’s Royal Chef
Today, on what would be Princess Diana’s birthday, I am warmed by memories of the beautiful, kind hearted princess. As a food blogger with a keen interest in history, I like to honor the memory of people I admire through food. I want to briefly talk about Diana and her personal chef, former royal chef Darren McGrady.
Having cooked for the royal family for 15 years, Chef McGrady was close to Diana and her kin. In a story for the Daily Mail, McGrady shared a story about princes William and Harry. They attempted to forge a note from their nanny asking him to make them pizza. Unfortunately their childlike handwriting gave them away immediately, and they were served roast chicken instead.
After her divorce from Prince Charles, Diana asked Chef McGrady to leave Buckingham Palace to join her and the young princes at Kensington Palace. He happily agreed and began a new career without all of the royal formalities. According to McGrady, Diana preferred to have dinner at a round table that seated 10, rather than a large banquet style table.
During solo lunches, she would join McGrady in the kitchen and eat at the countertop, happily chatting with him while he tidied up. She was also respectful of his time, offering to make her own coffee when he was busy working on something else and even using the microwave to cook the premade meals he left for her. This casual behavior was unheard of during his time with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
Princess Diana’s Favorite Foods
After overcoming an eating disorder, Diana looked to Chef McGrady for ways to stay healthy. For the most part she stuck to a fat free diet, lots of stuffed vegetables like eggplant and peppers, and healthier versions of traditional British fare. She preferred poached chicken and baked potatoes to heavier roasted chicken and oil-roasted potatoes.
McGrady also revealed an incident in which he cooked lunch for Diana and Oprah Winfrey. After tasting his tomato mousse, Oprah inquired as to how Diana could possibly stay so slim while eating such rich food. Little did she know, McGrady had made a special, fat-free version just for Diana, who chalked her health up to small portions and exercise. I’m willing to bet that both versions tasted fantastic.
This recipe from Chef McGrady was one of Diana’s favorites, a rare indulgence in her otherwise healthy diet. It’s something of a cross between crème brûlée and traditional bread pudding, topped with raisins, slivered almonds and a dusting of powdered sugar. This lovely concoction is fit for a princess.
If you’re interested in hearing more on Chef McGrady’s time with the late princess and her family, I suggest taking a look at his book, Eating Royally: Recipes and Remembrances from a Palace Kitchen.
Princess Diana’s Favorite Bread and Butter Pudding
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 12 slices white bread
- 4 ounces unsalted butter softened
- 9 large egg yolks
- 6 ounces caster sugar (fine sugar) divided
- 1 vanilla bean
- 5 fluid ounces whole milk
- 12 fluid ounces double cream can sub heavy cream, look for one with the highest fat content
- 3 ounces golden raisins
- 3 ounces slivered almonds toasted
- 4 tablespoons Amaretto or Cointreau
- 1 teaspoons powdered sugar
Instructions
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the raisins with the Amaretto or Cointreau and cover. Leave at room temperature for at least 8 hours, overnight is preferred.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease your baking dish with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Generously butter the bread and remove crusts.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 5 oz of caster sugar.
- Split the vanilla bean and place in a pan with the milk and cream.
- Bring to a simmer and pour over the egg yolks, stirring constantly. Remove the vanilla bean, scraping the seeds into the custard mixture. The bean can be discarded or used to make vanilla sugar.
- Cut 3 slices of the bread into 1/2-inch cubes and place in the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with the raisin and Amaretto mixture.
- Cut the remaining slices of bread into triangles and arrange over the top.
- Pour the warm egg mixture over the bread, making sure all of the bread is evenly coated. Allow to soak into the bread for 20 minutes. Fill a roasting pan, about ¾ of the way up the sides of the baking dish, with hot water and place the baking dish into the pan. Be careful not to splash any water into the baking dish.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the filling has set like a custard, similar to crème brûlée. Remove from the oven and roasting tray and sprinkle with the remaining 1 oz of caster sugar. Broil or use a torch to caramelize the sugar topping.
- Sprinkle with the toasted slivered almonds and dust with powdered sugar. Serve with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and fresh berries, if desired.
NOTES
Nutrition
The best pudding I ever made, so creamy and delicious
.I will make this again
Looks like a royal dish. I hope it’s going to taste great as well.
Loved Diana, and still am saddened when I think of her. This recipe is delicious, and I am a fan of bread pudding, one of the top on my list to make for friends. Thank you.
I actually made this and it was fantastic! Used Amaretto and soaked the raisins over night. The only thing I will change next time is to bake it just a little bit longer than 30min. Also used vanilla bean paste instead of a vanilla bean and I needed about 3/4 stick of butter to butter all of my bread instead of the full stick the recipe calls for. Everyone loved it and will make again. Thanks!
Thank you for the great recipe. I remember when I heard about Princess Dianas passing. We signed a sympathy book in downtown L.A. to be sent to the family. What a line of people to sign. She was truly” The Peoples Princess.”
I would love to get the recipe for Lemon and Elderflower wedding cake that Prince Harry and Meghan had.
Thank You,
Millie
Ingredients
US Customary
Metric
1x
2x
3x
Lemon Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 Tbsp lemon zest from one large lemon
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk room temperature
1/3 cup lemon juice fresh squeezed, from one medium lemon
Lemon Curd:
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice fresh squeezed, from one large lemon
1 Tbsp lemon zest from one large lemon
6 Tbsp unsalted butter cubed
Elderflower Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
6 large egg whites
2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups unsalted butter room temperature
2-4 Tbsp elderflower cordial to taste
Assembly:
elderflower cordial/syrup
Instructions
Lemon Cake:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 8″ cake rounds and line with parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and lemon zest until smooth. Add sugar and beat on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins).
Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
Alternate adding flour mixture with milk & lemon juice, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk & lemon juice). Fully incorporating after each addition.
Spread batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the tops.
Bake for approx. 35mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely
Lemon Curd:
Place eggs and sugar into a small pot, whisk to combine. Add lemon juice, zest, and butter. Cook over medium-low heat whisking constantly until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
Transfer to a glass bowl and lay plastic wrap directly on surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill for 3 hours to set. Makes 2 cups.
Elderflower Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.*
Place bowl over a pot with 1-2″ of simmering water and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch or reads 160F on a candy thermometer (approx. 3mins)
Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.**
Add 2-4 Tbsp elderflower cordial (to taste) one Tbsp at a time whip until smooth.
Assembly:
Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Poke holes into the cake using a bamboo skewer. Brush with elderflower cordial.***
Spread a thin layer of buttercream on top of the layer and pipe a border around the outside to hold the lemon curd in. Fill with approx 3/4 cup of lemon curd. Repeat with next layer.
Place final layer on top and do a thin crumb coat on the cake. Chill for 20mins.
Frost the top and sides of the cake with remaining frosting in a rustic manner. I started by spreading a generous amount of buttercream on the top and letting it overhang on the sides. Then I used a flat spatula to add buttercream to the sides of the cake and to smooth the which created a top lip with the overlapping buttercream.
Top with fresh peonies if desired, but be sure to wrap the stems in floral tape.
Notes
* Ensure there is NO trace of egg yolks in your whites and that your mixer bowl and whisk is completely grease free or your meringue won’t stiffen.** The buttercream may look like it’s curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth.*** You can dilute the cordial if you like, by adding it to some simple syrup.