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1
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4.
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2
Cut the crusts off the bread and slice each piece into two triangles.
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3
Butter them liberally and set aside (dont bother covering them up stale bread works just as well).
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4
Split the vanilla pod and place both the seeds and the empty pod into a saucepan with the cream and milk and bring to just below boiling point.
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5
While thats going on, whisk together the egg yolks and caster sugar in a large bowl.
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6
Allow the cream mix to cool a little at least five minutes, but preferably more.
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7
Slowly strain it through a sieve on to the egg yolks, stirring all the time, to make a thin custard.
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8
Arrange the bread triangles in the dish in three layers, sprinkling the fruit between two layers and leaving the top clear (rotate the dish 180 degrees between each layer).
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9
Pour over the warm custard, lightly pressing the bread to help it soak in, and leave it to stand for at least 20 to 30 minutes before cooking, to make sure that the bread absorbs all the custard.
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10
Place the dish in a roasting tray that is three quarters filled with warm water and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the pudding begins to set.
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11
The top layer of bread should be pale golden.
