Summer Pudding

For a long while I remained unconvinced that a pudding basically consisting of slices of bread and fresh berries could be worth making and eating. How wrong I was!

A few years ago a friend made Summer Pudding for dessert on one of those hot, languid evenings where twilight just seems to linger in the air for ever. On a white platter came the most perfect berry-red pudding, scattered with extra berries and accompanied by a big bowl of whipped cream. Visually it was amazing but I was still not sure that bread and berries would taste that great together.

The fact that I’m writing out this recipe should tell you that I just loved it and want to share with you a recipe for summer pudding that amazes me with its simplicity, flavour and affect every time I make it.

It’s a universal recipe - one that everyone makes without much variation. You’ll find that after you’ve made the pudding once you can personalise it by using different sized and shaped moulds - anything from a deep pudding bowl to a cake tin or mixing bowl - just imagine if the inverted shape is one that will appeal to you.

As you will see from the quantity of berries used, this recipe is definitely one for the height of summer when they’re cheap(ish) and plentiful. Please don’t stint on the berries!  Oh, and make this dessert the day before you need it to allow the bread to do its thing …

Summer Pudding

Ingredients

• I loaf of white bread - cut into 1cm slices - the bread should be a good dense bread but not sourdough
• 12 cups of summer berries - raspberries, blackberries and the like
• 1 cup sugar
• Just a splash of Kirsch - optional
• Whipped cream

Method

1. Warm the berries in a large saucepan with the sugar - only for a few minutes - you don’t want to cook the berries, just convince them to release their juices
2. Line a 22cm cake tin with plastic wrap so that it comes up the sides generously
3. Cut the crusts from the bread
4. Line the base and sides of the mould with a layer of bread - don’t overlap the slices - imagine you’re doing a puzzle and all the pieces have to fit into each other - obviously the simpler your mould the easier this task will be and remember that when you invert your pudding this layer will be the top
5. Pour in half the berry mix and spread evenly over the bread
6. Add another layer of bread over the berries
7. Pour in the rest of the berries and spread evenly
8. Top with another layer of bread slices
9. Cover the top with plastic and weigh down the pudding with something like a large tin of chick peas on a plate
10. Refrigerate overnight
11. Invert onto a platter and scatter extra berries around pudding if desired
12. Serve with whipped cream, flavoured with a little sugar and vanilla

My Tips

• Before you start make sure you have a plate that will fit just inside your mould in order to weigh down the pudding successfully
• Have a raspberry coulis on hand to pour over any bread that may have missed out on being soaked with berry juice
• David Lebovitz, in his fantastic book Room For Dessert, recommends avoiding strawberries in your summer pudding - having used them I tend to agree with him - their texture is not quite right
• An alternative to the classic pudding shape is to use a small, deep baking dish, preferably glass or ceramic - rather than inverting it you just cut the summer pudding into gorgeous ruby squares. (This idea comes from Chez Panisse Fruit by Alice Waters)

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