Rasmalai bread and butter pudding

1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 160C fan /gas mark 4. Roast the pistachios and almonds in a roasting tray for 15 mins, until slightly golden and toasted. Allow to cool slightly before roughly chopping with a knife into small chunky pieces, we want these to add crunch.
2. Place the cardamom pods in a dry frying pan over a medium heat and toast for about 10 mins, stirring constantly, until slightly golden and fragrant. Transfer to a pestle and mortar (or spice grinder), bash them to remove the seeds (reserve the shells), and grind these into a fine powder.  
3. In a medium-sized saucepan, place the milk, cream, caster sugar, saffron and ground cardamom, along with the shells, and mix to combine. Heat gently for 10 mins, stirring constantly, then turn off the heat and leave to infuse while you prepare the bread. (Once infused, remove the cardamom shells.)
4. Spread the brioche with butter, then cut each slice into nine small squares. Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Then, carefully pour in the milk mixture, whisking constantly until combined. 
5. In a square casserole dish, scatter over half the brioche pieces to cover the base. Sprinkle over half the roasted nuts and sultanas, then pour over half the custard.
6. Repeat this process with the remaining ingredients and, finally, sprinkle with demerara sugar on top. Leave to soak for 10 mins, then bake in the oven for 25 mins, until slightly golden and crunchy on the top, and soft and custardy underneath. 
7. Serve this on its own or with a scoop of pistachio ice cream on the side, which is my personal favourite!  

This recipe is from Crystelle’s debut cookbook, Flavour Kitchen, which is available to preorder now from Waterstones, Amazon and other online retailers