Classic Summer Pudding Recipes

EASY ENGLISH SUMMER PUDDING

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Stir the water and sugar together and bring to a gentle boil. Add all the berries and fruits except the strawberries. Stew the fruits very gently and not for too long. They should simply be softened but still retain their shape. Once you feel they are ready put them to one side (juice and all) and leave to cool.
• Cut the slices of bread into half-each half into triangles. They do not all have to match perfectly; you will use these to line a 1 1/2-pint (700-milliliter) pudding.
• Start by lining your pudding basin with cling film. Then continue by dipping a couple of triangles in the juices of the stewed fruits . Lay these in the bottom of the dish and then continue the same way but lining the sides of the basin with bread slices ensuring there are no gaps.
• Once completed, fill with the stewed fruits including the strawberries. Cover the top with more juice dipped bread slices. Make sure not to add too much of the juices from the fruits as this may cause the bread to lose its shape. There must be enough to soak into the bread, though.
• Place a saucer on the top of the basin and weigh down with something heavy like a tin of tomatoes or beans is ideal. Place in the refrigerator and leave overnight.
• The next day, turn the pudding out onto a pretty serving plate and serve with either the whipped cream or make some lovely custard sauce . If you are lucky enough to have scorching sunny weather, then serve with ice cream.
• Enjoy.

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.

CLASSIC SUMMER PUDDING

Steps:

• Wash the fruit and place it all (except the strawberries) in a large pan with the caster sugar and 3 tbsp water. Gently heat for 3 mins until the juice from the fruit starts to seep out. Add the strawberries and cook for 2 mins more. Drain the juice from the fruit through a sieve set over a large bowl. Taste the juice and add a little more sugar if necessary.
• Line a 1.2-litre pudding basin with a double layer of cling film, leaving an overlap around the top. Remove the crusts from the brioche and slice the loaf into 1cm-thick slices along the length of the loaf. Cut 1 slice in half widthways and trim the corners to fit into the base of the bowl - you may need to use both squares, trimmed to fit.
• Trim the slices to the correct length to line the sides of the bowl. To assemble the pudding, dip the slices of brioche into the fruit juice, then use them to line the basin. Start with the bottom pieces, then lay soaked rectangles of brioche along the sides of the bowl. If you have any gaps left at the end, patch these up with any remaining brioche, but make sure you save some for the base.
• Tip the fruit into the lined basin. Finish the pudding with a layer of brioche to make a base, then pour over any remaining liquid. Wrap the overhanging cling film over the top.
• Place a small plate, which will fit snugly on top of the basin, over the cling film and weigh down with 2 x 400g cans of tomatoes or beans. Leave the pudding weighed down in the fridge for at least a couple of hours, or overnight if possible.
• To serve, unwrap the cling film and place a serving plate over the pudding. Flip it over, remove the basin and carefully peel away the cling film. Serve in slices with clotted cream, if you like.