Croissant, nectarine, chocolate and malibu ‘bread & butter’ pudding

A leftover dream of a dessert when you have things lying about the kitchen and pantry. It looks and tastes decadent, and pays tribute to the cooler weather we’re enjoying in Sydney, tantalising the tastebuds with promises of winter puddings to come!

4 large croissants, (preferably a day or so old)
2 very ripe nectarines (peaches or plums will do, or any ripe fruit)
A handful of dark chocolate (63-70% couverture by preference)
50 mls of Malibu (or whatever leftover liqueur is skulking about – brandy, Frangelico, Amaretto etc etc)
4 eggs – and if you have a couple of egg yolks left over from something else, toss them in too
600 mls cream and milk combined (whatever ratio you prefer, or as determined by what’s in the fridge).
3 tablespoons of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla paste or extract
A few spoonfuls of Demerara sugar to sprinkle on top.

Have the oven heating to 180° C. Whisk the eggs and sugar and add the cream/milk mixture, liqueur, and vanilla, whisking until combined.

Generously butter a baking dish. Slice the croissants, slice the nectarines and chop or break the chocolate into bits. You don’t need to butter the croissants – they’re buttery enough. Arrange the croissants and nectarines in your dish, scattering over chocolate as you go. Pour the egg and cream/milk mixture into the dish and let it stand 10-15 mins at least to allow the custard to soak in a little. Before you put it in the oven, sprinkle the top with sugar. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until it goes brown and caramelised on top and the custard is set in the middle. Remove from the oven and stand for ten minutes before serving.

You can serve it with cream or ice cream, but it's actually so goo-ily moist and rich I didn’t think it needed anything else. Maybe some toasted almonds over the top?