HI everyone.
I got to thinking about which recipe to do this week, and it dawned on me that we are in the midst of summer.
The school holidays have just begun, many people are busy planning their getaways or simply just looking forward to al fresco eating. All this despite the fact that we seem to have had our summer sun back in April and May - where has it gone to now?
Well, we can still enjoy the summer fruits and hopefully bring a bit of Summer to our tables. What better way than to do a Summer pudding. I hope you enjoy making this extremely simple yet delicious and effective dish....
Ingredients
225g redcurrants
450g raspberries
110g blackcurrants
150g caster sugar
7-8 medium slices white bread
You will also need a 1½ pint pudding basin dish, lightly buttered. But if you don’t have one, don’t worry - a good round dessert bowl will do. I have included the berries as above for the dish, if you prefer strawberries then add them instead of redcurrants.
Method
Separate the redcurrants and blackcurrants from their stalks by holding the tip of each stalk firmly between finger and thumb and sliding it between the prongs of a fork, pushing the fork downwards, pulling off the berries as it goes. Rinse all the fruits, picking out any raspberries that look at all musty.
Place the fruits with the sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat and let them cook for about 3-5 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the juices begin to run – don't overcook spoil the fresh flavour. Now remove the fruit from the heat and line the pudding basin with the slices of bread, overlapping them and sealing well by pressing the edges together. Fill in any gaps with small pieces of bread, so that no juice can get through when you add the fruit.
Pour the fruit and juice in (except for about two thirds of a cupful), then cover the pudding with another slice of bread. Then place a small plate or saucer (one that will fit exactly inside the rim of the bowl) on top, and on top of that place a 3 lb or 4 lb (1.3 kg or 1.8 kg) weight, and leave in the fridge overnight.
Just before serving the pudding, turn it out on to a large serving dish and spoon the reserved juice all over, to soak any bits of bread that still look white. Serve cut into wedges, with a bowl of thick cream on the table.
Enjoy!
