Artist’s Palate: Manolo Blahnik’s bread and butter pudding

(Image credit: Felicity McCabe)

‘Fred’ desk, £5,760, by Roberto Lazzeroni, for Poltrona Frau. Glasses, £125, by Cubitts. Imporium pen, £325, by Mario Bellini, for Lamy. ‘Anmut Platinum’ plate, £26, by Villeroy & Boch, from Harrods. ‘Goa’ fork, €11, by Cutipol. Notebooks, from a selection, by Hieronymus. ‘Tizio’ light, £250, by Richard Sapper, for Artemide. Winsor & Newton inks and pen, part of set, £250, from Linley. ‘Phi’ scissors, £25,by Hay, from SCP. Fossilised ammonite, £350, from Dale Rogers Ammonite. ‘Soda’ fabric in Wine, £60 per m, by Kirkby Design. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Maud Eden

Manolo Blahnik is perhaps the high-kickingest shoemaker of our time. So it’s fitting he’s being feted in an upcoming film, the most hotly anticipated fashion documentary since Dior and I. It promises an intimate portrait of the designer, including the tale of how, growing up in the Canary Islands, Blahnik used sweet wrappers to craft shoes for the lizards in his garden. His contribution to our artist recipe series, a bread and butter pudding, comes with an expectedly elegant twist. It’s made from two-dayold brioche and layered with raisins soaked in either rum or marsala wine.

Ingredients
8 slices of 2 day old, brioche
400ml double cream
100g salted butter
8 eggs
50g caster sugar
20g golden raisons
1 teaspoon pure vanila pod
Nutmeg
3/4 tablespoons of Rum or Masala wine

Method
Soak the raisons in a small amount of rum or masala for 20 minutes.
Grease your baking dish with a small amount of the butter.
Spread the softened butter on the sliced brioche and then cut into triangles.
Sprinkle half the raisons in the base of the dish.
Layer the buttered sliced brioche into the dish.
Sprinkle the remaining raisons and the Rum or Masala over the top.
In a small bowl beat until frothy the eggs and sugar together with the vanilla, fold in the cream and whisk carefully until smooth.
Pour the cream/egg/sugar mixture over the layers of brioche and leave to soak for 45 to 60 minutes.
Grate some nutmeg and sprinkle a teaspoon of caster sugar on the top and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top is golden.

As originally featured in the September 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*222)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Manolo Blahnik website

TF Chan is a former editor of Wallpaper* (2020-23), where he was responsible for the monthly print magazine, planning, commissioning, editing and writing long-lead content across all pillars. He also played a leading role in multi-channel editorial franchises, such as Wallpaper’s annual Design Awards, Guest Editor takeovers and Next Generation series. He aims to create world-class, visually-driven content while championing diversity, international representation and social impact. TF joined Wallpaper* as an intern in January 2013, and served as its commissioning editor from 2017-20, winning a 30 under 30 New Talent Award from the Professional Publishers’ Association. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he holds an undergraduate degree in history from Princeton University.