Single serve vegan choc and cherry croissant bread and butter pudding

I have an awful habit, and I need to share it with you. (Not *that* habit, I'm not going to talk about that. How did you even know about that?)

No, my habit is that when I buy anything that's a bit special, I tend to put it on a shelf somewhere and think 'I'll save that for a special occasion' or 'I'll hang on to it until I've found that recipe they were made for'. Then, it'll sit around for weeks, months, longer, while I try and find the perfect way or situation to use up that new ingredient or special thing.

Case in point: there's an interesting grocery shop I sometimes pass by; the last time I was in, I picked up some vegan croissants from a brand I'd never seen before. The next time I went in, and every time since, those vegan croissants weren't there. Said croissants acquired some magical scarcity value and I couldn't quite bring myself to use them for a casual breakfast. I'd need to use them for something really special.

Only I could never quite find that recipe that they'd being crying out for. I checked the best before dates on them, only to find that they should have been used before September. I opened up one tentatively, only to discover that delicious croissant I'd been saving had turned into a sorry looking, dried up version of the pillowy pastry I'd been imaging.

When life gives you crusty old croissants, what do you do? You make choc and cherry bread and butter pudding of course!

It turns out, because those croissants had dried up, they were perfect for soaking up custard, and made a creditable dessert (or in this case, a breakfast. Yep, I'm a grown-up, so no-one can tell me off for eating cake for breakfast. It's one of getting old's few consolations!)

It's also a good way to use up that box of Follow Your Heat's vegan egg that's been in my cupboard for I don't know how long. I'm cooking two vegan birds with one stone!

Single serve choc and cherry croissant bread and butter pudding
Makes the perfect amount for one

Ingredients
One vegan croissant, cut into 1/2cm slices
A small handful of frozen cherries (or whatever frozen or dried fruit you have to hand)
A couple of squares of vegan chocolate, chopped into small chunks
One tablespoon of Follow Your Heart vegan egg powder
75mls of non-dairy milk
Half a teaspoon of maple syrup (or similar)
A little vegan margarine or coconut oil for greasing

How you do it
Preheat your oven to 180C
Find a deep ramekin and grease lightly
Layer up the croissant slices, cherries and chocolate
Whisk together the vegan egg, milk, maple syrup together, and pour over the croissant mix
Wait a couple of minutes for the custard to soak in, then put the ramekin in a heatproof dish, and fill the dish with boiling water until it comes about half way up the side of the ramekin.
Cook for 15 minutes, then enjoy!