Summer Pudding

Sunday 14 June 2009



One of the things I like best about this time of year is all the lovely berry fruits that are becoming available. This pudding is a real favourite in our household, probably because all these fresh fruits are only in the shops for a very short time each year.


Soft and tremblingly tasty, this pudding is full of lovely fresh flavours . . . tart currants, sweet raspberries, blueberries, tay berries . . . cherries . . . this is summer at it's finest in a bowl.



Do plan ahead as it needs to be put into the fridge the night before in order for it to set up properly and for the lovely fruit juices to soak meltingly into the bread. Also be sure to use a good loaf of white bread, not the ordinary sliced bread that is for every day use, and so soft and squidgy. Buy a good and sturdy loaf, and let it go stale. You want it to be a couple of days old so that it will soak in the juices better.




*Summer Pudding*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

This delicious pudding is one of my favourite things about summer. Tart . . . sweet . . . this pudding contains all the goodness of summer in every mouthful. Plan ahead as it needs to sit overnight to set up.

750g/1lb 14oz mixed summer fruit
(such as raspberries, red, white and blackcurrants, tayberries, loganberries, blackberries, cherries and blueberries)
185g/6½oz caster sugar
1 medium loaf good-quality white bread, slightly stale
2 tbsp cassis or blackcurrant cordial
creme fraiche for serving

You will need a 2 pint pudding basin.


Place all the fruit in a pan, removing any stalks as necessary. Add the sugar and then heat and cook them over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, only until the sugar has dissolved and the fruit begins to give up some of it's juices. Please be careful not to over cook them. Stir in the cassis or blackcurrant cordial. Set aside while you get the bread ready.

Trim off all the crusts from the bread and cut the bread into thin slices. Cut one round slice out of the bread to fit the bottom of the basin and place it into the basin. Line the pudding basin with the slices of bread, overlapping them and sealing well by pressing any edges together. Fill in any gaps with small pieces of bread, so that no juice can get through when you add the fruit. spoon all of the fruit and its juices into the pudding basin. Trim the tips of bread from around the edge. Cover the top of the fruit with more wedges of bread. Place the pudding basin on a plate to collect any juices. Find a saucer that fits neatly inside the bowl, and place it on top to cover the upper layer of bread, then weigh the saucer down with weights - unopened tin cans come in very handy for this.. Let it cool, then place in the fridge overnight.

The next day, remove the weights and the saucer. Run a thin blade around the edges, then invert the basin onto a shallow serving plate. Serve, cut into slices or spooned out, and topped with a good dollop of Creme Fraiche.

11 comments

  1. This looks so pretty. I have always thought summer puddings look so bright and refreshing. Thanks for sharing it :)

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  2. Every year this dessert pops up all over the place but I have never made it, nor even tasted it. Not once and I call myself English! Maybe I should give it a go.

    love, Angie, xx

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  3. Mmmm Yum - That pud looks good! Great pictures too.

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  4. Marie, I love your new blog! The recipes are great and everything looks so wonderful! The chicken has me drooling!

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  5. This is one of those quintessentially English desserts that I love but have never even considered making myself. The process looks so involved that it puts me off. Yours looks absolutely wonderful.

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  6. My mouth is watering, big time, Marie. Thanks for that recipe. I just luvvv summer pud, so now I have no excuse NOT to make it with your good recipe. Thanks!

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  7. Lovely recipe. This sounds refreshing and light. And thanks so much for including a printable version of your recipes. that's very thoughtful.

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  8. Marie, this pudding just calls summer for us in England. I never cease to make at least one during summer.

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  9. I've just come in from blackberrying. Instead of my usual apple and blackberry crumble, I thought I'd try a summer pudding (or two) this year.

    Can you use sugar free sweetner in this recipe and do you know if it can be frozen for use at Christmas instead of Christmas pudding?

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  10. Hi Hesadevil! Thanks so much for your question. I am quite sure you could use sugar free sweetener instead of regular sugar, just be sure to reduce the fruit liquid somewhat so that it has the same consistency that it would had you used regular sugar. I cannot vouch for what would happen should you freeze it as I have never done so. Not much help I know!!

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  11. I might use some apple juice instead of sweetner to cook the fruit.

    I suspect it would freeze well. You can buy summer puddings from the freezer cabinets in supermarkets. I think the fact that the fruit has been 'cooked' means that freezing is successful. I know that frozen strawberries don't have the same texture as fresh but are closer to those that have been cooked.

    BtW,
    Cassis is an inspired addition to the classic recipe.

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