1940s Wartime Recipe for Bread Pudding

This is a family favourite based on a Bread Pudding Recipe handed down and altered to taste. Delicious hot or cold - in fact it is nigh impossible to have a cup of tea and NOT have a chunk!
What you need:
Stale bread (about half a loaf's worth - we placed any left over bread in the oven as it cooled to let it dry out and last longer until we had enough)
4 oz Margerine or butter
2 oz Suet
Dried fruit to taste (it's delicious well loaded, in the war dried fruit was hard to come by)
Black treacle (the family like it nearly black in colour)
4 oz brown sugar
Nutmeg and/or mixed spice to taste
Good sized dish like this pyrex

Cook at about Mk 4 for approx 45- 60 minutes

• Break the dried bread up and cover with water to soften (we leave it overnight). When it's soaked wring out as much water as possible either by hand or push through a sieve. Get the kids to do it - but wash hands first!

• Melt the marg and suet and add to the bread and mix then add the sugar and about a tablespoon of treacle if you like your Bread Pudding dark and flavoursome.

• Add the amount of dried fruit and mixed spice you want and mix thoroughly together and place ina greased ovenproof dish. Press flat and if you wish, mark out portions. Sprinkle more sugar on the top or some grated nutmeg for extra zing.

• Place in the oven and wait patiently - it'll be worth it. Let it cool a little and become  more solid and enjoy.

Play with the recipe until it's just as you like it.