Red Fruit 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:

• Grease an 850ml pudding basin with oil and line with 2 sheets of clingfilm, letting a little bit overhang.
• Remove any stalks from the berries. Hull and quarter the strawberries (if using).
• Place all the berries in a large, heavy-based saucepan with the sugar, orange juice and vanilla paste (if using).
• Cook over a low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves and juices start bleeding from the fruit. Set aside to cool.
• Remove the crusts from the bread, then spread over the jam.
• Line the basin with 6 of the slices, jam-side up. Overlap slightly to ensure no gaps, and press the bread against the sides.
• Spoon the cooled fruit and half its juice into the lined basin, reserving the remaining juice.
• Cover the pudding with the last slice of bread, jam-side down, then pull over the overhanging clingfilm.
• Place a saucer that fits inside the basin on top of the pudding, then place a weight, about 2kg, on top of it. Refrigerate overnight to soak up the juices.
• Strain the leftover juice through a fine sieve into a small pan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the juice has reduced into a light syrup. Pour into a jug and keep in the fridge.
• To serve, open the clingfilm and carefully invert the pudding onto a plate.
• Drizzle large slices with the syrup and serve with crème fraîche or cream, if you like.

RED-FRUIT SUMMER PUDDING

Steps:

• Put strawberries, cherries, plums, brown sugar, salt, vanilla bean and seeds, lemon juice, and water into a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, gently stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until fruits release juices and are just soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in raspberries and Cointreau.
• Pour fruit mixture through a sieve into a shallow bowl, pressing lightly on solids; discard vanilla bean. Transfer fruit mixture to another bowl. Set both aside.
• Line a 9-inch bowl with plastic wrap, allowing a 3-inch overhang. Working one at a time, quickly dip bread slices into juices, flipping to coat both sides; arrange in prepared bowl, covering bottom and sides completely and trimming to fit if needed. Spread with 1 cup fruit mixture, and then top with more dipped bread. Repeat, using 1 1/2 cups fruit mixture between layers and finishing with bread.
• Cover with plastic overhang. Top with a plate small enough to fit just inside rim, and weigh with soup cans. Refrigerate overnight (or up to 2 days). Unmold pudding onto a platter; remove plastic wrap. Garnish with fruits.

SUMMER PUDDING

Steps:

• Place fruit in saucepan with sugar and cook gently for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Line pudding basin with slices of bread, leaving no gaps. Fill with fruit, cover the top with more bread, to form lid. Cover with saucer and put weights on top, to press the bread down. Refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight. Turn out onto serving plate spoon over extra juice to cover any white part still showing. Serve with clotted cream or ice cream.

SUMMER PUDDING

Steps:

• The day before you plan to serve the pudding, line a 2 quart mixing bowl with plastic wrap. Line the plastic wrap with the white bread slices, trimming to fit so that the pieces fit together neatly. Save enough bread to cover the top of the pudding.
• In a saucepan, combine the apple juice concentrate and all the berries. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the strawberries begin to soften, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat immediately.
• Stirring, dissolve the gelatin in the water, then add the mixture to the berries and stir to combine. Spoon into the bread-lined bowl. Cover with remaining bread slices, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and slightly weight it down. Chill overnight.
• When ready to serve, whip the cream with an electric mixer at high speed until it forms soft peaks.
• Remove the pudding from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Carefully turn the pudding out onto a platter, remove the bowl and the plastic wrap. Serve in slices with whipped cream on top.

SIMPLE SUMMER PUDDING

Steps:

• Mix the first 3 ingredients and leave for 5-10 mins. If you're using defrosted fruit, tip in some of the juice, too. Meanwhile, line a 1.2 litre pudding basin with cling film, leaving an overhang. Cut a circle of bread to fit the base, then quarter the rest.
• Drain the juices from the soaked fruit into a bowl, dip the bread in until soaked. Layer up the fruit and bread, pour over the remaining juices and cover with the overhanging cling film - weigh down with a small plate and a couple of cans. Chill in the fridge for 10 mins or until ready to eat. Serve with single cream.

RASPBERRY SUMMER PUDDING (ENGLISH STYLE)

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, water, and raspberries. Cook, stirring carefully so as not to damage the berries, until the mixture is hot, and the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Line a 1 quart bowl with 5 slices of bread. Pour the raspberry mixture over the bread, and place the last slice of bread on top. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Place a weight on top of the bowl (canned goods work well), and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, remove plastic wrap, and invert onto a plate. Serve chilled, with whipped cream on the side.