Berry Summer Pudding Recipes

SUMMER PUDDING

Steps:

• Bring out the juices: Wash fruit and gently dry on kitchen paper - keep strawberries separate. Put sugar and 3 tbsp water into a large pan. Gently heat until sugar dissolves - stir a few times. Bring to a boil for 1 min, then tip in the fruit (not strawberries). Cook for 3 mins over a low heat, stirring 2-3 times. The fruit will be softened, mostly intact and surrounded by dark red juice. Put a sieve over a bowl and tip in the fruit and juice.
• Line the bowl with cling film and prepare the bread: Line the 1.25-litre basin with cling film as this will help you to turn out the pudding. Overlap two pieces of cling film in the middle of the bowl as it's easier than trying to get one sheet to stick to all of the curves. Let the edges overhang by about 15cm. Cut the crusts off the bread. Cut 4 pieces of bread in half, a little on an angle, to give 2 lopsided rectangles per piece. Cut 2 slices into 4 triangles each and leave the final piece whole.
• Build the pud: Dip the whole piece of bread into the juice for a few secs just to coat. Push this into the bottom of the basin. Now dip the wonky rectangular pieces one at a time and press around the basin's sides so that they fit together neatly, alternately placing wide and narrow ends up. If you can't quite fit the last piece of bread in it doesn't matter, just trim into a triangle, dip in juice and slot in. Now spoon in the softened fruit, adding the strawberries here and there as you go.
• Let flavours mingle then serve: Dip the bread triangles in juice and place on top - trim off overhang with scissors. Keep leftover juice for later. Bring cling film up and loosely seal. Put a side plate on top and weight down with cans. Chill for 6 hrs or overnight. To serve, open out cling film then put a serving plate upside-down on top and flip over. serve with leftover juice, any extra berries and cream.

SUMMER PUDDING

Steps:

• Line the bottom of a 2- to 2 1/2-quart bowl with bread, tearing bread as necessary to completely cover bottom without overlapping. Halve remaining bread slices lengthwise. Line sides of bowl with overlapping bread slices (reserve some for covering the top); trim bread flush with top of bowl.
• Combine berries, sugar, cinnamon, and 1/4 cup water in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, gently stirring a few times, just until berries start to soften and currants begin to burst and release their juices. Do not let mixture boil. Remove from heat. Let cool 10 minutes.
• Pour berry mixture into bowl and cover with a single layer of remaining bread slices, tearing bread as necessary to fill in any gaps. Place a round dish or pan slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl on top of bread, and press down on plate until juices rise to surface. Place a heavy can or other weight on top of plate. Transfer to refrigerator and let chill at least 12 hours and up to 1 day.
• Remove weighted plate from basin. Run a thin knife around edge between bread and bowl. Invert onto a rimmed serving plate and lift bowl to release pudding. Stir together mascarpone and cream in a bowl until smooth, then whisk to soft peaks. Cut pudding into wedges and serve with whipped mascarpone cream.

BERRY SUMMER PUDDING

Steps:

• To make the pudding, combine berries, sugar and 1/3 cup water in a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved and berries release their juices, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. The sauce should be sweet, with a hint of tartness. Adjust with more sugar or lemon juice as needed. Stir in rosewater if using
• Spoon an even layer of berry syrup (not the berries themselves) in the bottom of an 8-inch loaf pan or a medium-size bowl. Line bottom of pan or bowl with a single layer of bread; cut bread into pieces as necessary to make it fit. Spoon 1/3 of the fruit on top of bread, making sure bread is completely coated; top with a layer of bread. Repeat twice more, alternating layers of fruit with layers of bread, ending up with bread as the top layer. Let mixture cool completely, then wrap pan tightly with plastic wrap. Place a light weight on top of the pudding. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
• Run a knife around sides of summer pudding, then turn it over onto a plate to unmold. Serve in slices with cream or ice cream on top.

SUMMER BERRY PUDDING

Steps:

• Special Equipment: Cheesecloth; heavy can or weight
• Coarsely chop the strawberries and put them and the other berries in a sauce pan. Add the sugar and salt and cook over high heat until the berries are heated and just giving up there juices. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
• In a blender, puree the simple syrup with 2 pints of raspberries until smooth. Set aside.
• Line a 2-quart pudding mold or deep bowl with cheesecloth. Dip both sides of some of the bread slices in the raspberry puree and arrange around the sides and bottom of the mold. Soak the remaining slices in the berry puree and layer with the cooked berries. Repeat and end with a bread layer on top.
• Using a plate that fits just inside the top of the mold, place it on top of the pudding. Put the mold in a pan and weight the plate. Refrigerate the pudding overnight.
• To serve, un-mold the pudding onto a serving platter, remove the cheesecloth and serve with scoop or two of vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle a little salt on top of ice cream for that hand-churned affect of homemade ice cream.

SUMMER BERRY PUDDING

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, add the fruit (reserving a few berries for garnish). Add the sugar and cook until the fruit is starting to release some liquid, is tender and beginning to burst, but still holds its shape, about 5 minutes.
• Line a large 6-cup pudding bowl with plastic wrap, allowing lots of overhang.
• Remove the crusts from 10 to 12 slices of bread. Press the bread slices briefly in the juices at the top of the berries in the pot then lay them into the bowl, juice-side down, ensuring there are no spaces. Use smaller pieces to overlap or close gaps in spaces, as needed.
• Remove the berries from the heat, and cool slightly. Using a slotted spoon, spoon the fruit into the bread-lined bowl, and top with a final layer of bread and spoon a bit more of the juices over the top to color the top layer of bread evenly. Reserve the remaining cooking juices for serving. Cover with the plastic wrap and place a plate over the top. Add a large heavy can or a 2-pound weight to the plate and let sit at least 8 hours, or overnight, refrigerated.
• On serving, whip the cream until soft peaks just begin to form. Add the sugar and whip until almost stiff.
• Gently invert the bowl onto a large serving dish, shaking it lightly to loosen. Peel the plastic wrap off, and spoon the reserved juice all over, to soak any bits of bread that still look white. Serve with a bowl of whipped cream on the side, or cut individual wedges, and add a dollop of cream and a berry or two for garnish.

DOUBLE-BERRY SUMMER PUDDING

Steps:

• Bring frozen strawberries and boysenberries to simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil until slightly thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Cool 20 minutes. Mix in brandy.
• Line 3-cup soufflé dish with plastic wrap. Cut cake into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Cut slices into 1 1/2-inch-wide strips. Line bottom of dish then sides with cake strips, pressing and adjusting as needed to fit strips closely together. Trim cake to 1/2-inch overhang over top rim if necessary. Mix 1/2 cup diced cake trimmings into fruit mixture. Spoon fruit mixture into prepared dish. Cover top of fruit filling with cake and press gently to compress. Wrap pudding tightly with plastic, pressing down again on top to compress. Chill overnight.
• Unwrap pudding and turn out onto plate. Peel off plastic. Cut pudding into 4 pieces. Place pudding on each of 4 plates. Spoon yogurt over as sauce. Garnish with strawberry slices and serve.

GRILLED SUMMER BERRY PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat the grill to high. Lay the slices of bread slightly overlapping in a shallow flameproof dish. Sprinkle about 2 tbsp of the sugar in an even layer over the bread and grill for about two minutes until the bread is toasted and the sugar is just starting to caramelise. Mix the cornflour into the fromage frais.
• Pile the fruit down the middle of the bread and sprinkle with 1 tbsp of the sugar. Drop spoonfuls of the fromage frais mixture on top, then sprinkle the rest of the sugar over evenly.
• Put the dish as close to the heat as you can and grill for about 6-8 minutes, until the fromage frais has browned and everything else is starting to bubble and turn juicy. Leave it to sit for a minute or two, then serve hot, spooned straight from the dish.