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The Australian government is holding a public opinion poll to determine the future of same sex marriage laws in this country, and today is the day that ballot papers have started arriving in letterboxes. With this in mind, I wanted to make a fabulous rainbow dessert to remind people to vote "YASSS!!" for same sex marriage - and what better way than to use the staple of all Australian children's party grub? Fairy bread!
The veganised version of bread and butter pudding simply switches in fairy bread in place for the normal buttered bread and spices. It's a very easy recipe, and the flavours? How could I even describe the complex flavour pairings that make up this dish? It tastes like.. 100's and 1000's. ..and custard. That's it. It tastes just like sugary bread, and that's exactly how it's meant to taste.
Note to people who have not made fairy bread before: it is strongly encouraged that you use the very worst ingredients you can find. I mean it. That means the crappiest, cheapest loaf of white bread you can track down. No fancy soy milk, and no million dollar dairy free butters - this dish screams out for cheap, basic margarine. Save yourself the time and effort by embracing the essence of Australian cuisine.. laziness. Oh, and remember to VOTE YES!
FAIRY BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING
Vegan. 25 minutes prep. 30min baking time.
INGREDIENTS
12 slices of the most awful stale white bread available to you - leave out for 48 hours to make stale if need be
A knob of cheap margarine
2 packets 100's and 1000's (rainbow sprinkles - check that they don't use Colour 120 as it is animal derived)
2.5 cups soy milk
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
2 heaped tablespoons of arrowroot powder (tapioca starch) or corn starch (NOT wheaten cornflour).
1/4 cup caster sugar
Pinch of salt
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
In a pot, place soy milk, sugar and salt over a low heat and bring to a simmer. Slowly whisk in arrowroot powder until dissolved and continue to stir until custard fully thickens (about 6 - 8 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Slice the crusts off the white bread (reserve to make breadcrumbs!) and liberally cover one side of each slice in margarine, before slicing in half to make triangles.
Pour 100's and 1000's into a bowl and place each bread triangle margarine side down to coat the surface entirely in 100's and 1000's.
Layer 1/3 of the fairy bread in a rectangle dish to form the base (100's and 1000's side facing up). Place the remaining fairy bread in an even pattern on top of the base (it's OK if it's not perfectly flat).
Pour custard mixture over fairy bread and add more 100's and 1000's on top. Leave to sit for 10 minutes before placing it in the oven for 30 minutes. Stand for 10 minutes before serving with a scoop of ice-cream and more 100's and 1000's!
