Onion bacon macaroni and cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil, add macaroni pasta and cook for 8 minutes (pasta will still be slightly hard). Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl with 4 tablespoons butter and toss to coat. Whisk together the soured cream, egg and cream cheese; add to the pasta and mix well. Stir in 350g of Parmesan and 400g of grated Cheddar cheese, reserving the remaining cheeses for the topping.

Place the bacon in a large, deep frying pan, and cook over medium high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon rashers on a kitchen paper-lined plate and chop into small pieces.

Preheat an oven to 200 C / Gas 6.

Stir 2 tablespoons butter, onion and garlic into the bacon fat in the pan and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the dark brown soft sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes until the onions are very soft and golden brown. Mix the cooked bacon, parsley and breadcrumbs into the onions, transfer mixture to a small bowl and set aside.

Return the frying pan to the heat and melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour, and stir until the mixture becomes paste-like and light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk the milk into the flour mixture and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook and stir until the mixture is smooth and thickened. Stir in the ground mustard, paprika, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Remove sauce from heat and let cool for five minutes.

Pour the sauce over the pasta mixture, stirring well. Transfer to a greased 20x30cm tin and sprinkle with the remaining cheeses. Top cheeses with the onion breadcrumb mixture.

Bake in preheated oven until bubbling, hot and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes.