Can I Freeze 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.

ANGELA'S SUMMER PUDDING

Steps:

• Firstly, get all the fruit ready. Hull the strawberries and cut them in halves or quarters depending on how big they are. Strip the blackcurrants and redcurrants from their stalks in one fell swoop by running a fork down the length of each stem - keep both the currants separate from the other fruits.
• Tip the sugar into a wide, not too deep, saucepan. Measure in 3 tbsp water and the cassis. Put the pan on a low heat and cook, stirring often, until you can no longer hear the crunch of sugar grains on the bottom of the pan. When the sugar is dissolved, turn up the heat to medium-high and let the mixture bubble away for about 8 minutes. It will go quite syrupy and you want to catch it just before it starts to change colour or caramelise.
• Now tip the blackcurrants and redcurrants into the hot syrup, it will feel quite sticky at first, then bring everything back up to a lively simmer and let it bubble again for no more than a minute, just to lightly burst and soften the currants without losing their shape. Take the pan off the heat and leave until it is barely warm.
• Gently stir in the strawberries and raspberries - a large metal spoon is best so they don't break up - and let the fruity mixture sit for about half an hour so the juices all mix in.
• Cut 4-5 slices from the loaf, about 5mm thick, and trim off the crusts. Cut a little square (about 4cm) from one slice and put it in the bottom of a 1.2 litre pudding basin. Using a big slotted spoon, put a layer of fruit (about 3 spoonfuls) over the bread. Next lay a slice of bread in the centre over the fruit trimming to fit and fill any gaps with trimmings of bread so the fruit is covered. Continue layering with more fruit, more bread, then a final layer of fruit so it comes to within a hair's breadth of the top of the basin. Spoon over a few spoonfuls of juice - not too much or it will ooze out when weighted down. (You should have about 4 spoonfuls of fruit and juice left for making a sauce.) Cover the fruit with a final layer of bread, press down to compact everything, then cover with cling film. Lay a saucer on top and weight down with heavy cans or weights. Stand the basin on a plate in case any juices spill out, then leave in the fridge overnight, or for a minimum of five hours. Press the leftover fruits and juice through a metal sieve to make a sauce, keep chilled. (You can freeze the pudding and the sauce at this stage for up to a month.)
• To turn out, go round the edge of the pudding with a round-bladed knife to release it, then invert it on to a plate. Cut into slices with a serrated knife and serve with a drizzle of the fruit sauce and cream.