A Christmas Summer Pudding
This fabulous pudding is from my book, The Cook’s Garden. It’s the perfect dessert for the “down-under” Christmas table because not only are glorious plump berries and redcurrants in season, it’s served cold, which makes very good sense on a hot summer day.
I was fortunate to be given the late Skye Gyngell’s Summer Pudding recipe many years ago in which she uses sponge instead of bread to line the basin and a different mix of berries.
Inroduction
About this Recipe
By: Sheridan Rogers
The flavour will be best if 500g of the fruit is composed of soft fresh raspberries. Blueberries, blackberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants, mulberries or pitted cherries can make up the remaining 250g.
Take care to use pesticide-free berries and to start the preparation a day before serving.
Ingredients
Serves 6
- fresh raspberries 500g
- mixed soft summer red fruits 250g, such as red or blackcurrants, blueberries, mulberries and pitted cherries
- caster sugar 200g
- white day-old bread 10 slices
Wash and destalk fruit. Place in a shallow pan with the sugar. Heat gently until sugar dissolves and juices are running — do not cook beyond this stage.
Put a colander over a medium bowl and tip the fruit into it.
Trim crusts from bread. Dip each slice into the fruit juices in the bowl.
Line a 750 ml (1½ pint) pudding basin with plastic wrap (with plenty of overhang) then with the juice-stained bread, easing pieces together and filling gaps with triangular shaped slices.
Half-fill the lined basin with drained fruit. Cover fruit with one layer of dipped bread, then fill with remaining fruit. Cover the top with bread, fold over plastic wrap overhang to seal, tucking in neatly.
Place a plate on top that fits inside the rim of the basin. Weigh down with a tin (or something similar) and refrigerate overnight.
To serve: fold back the plastic wrap and invert the pudding onto a serving platter. Spoon or brush over any reserved juices.
Serve with thick cream and vanilla ice cream.