Saturday, October 3, 2009

Anyone for Summer Pudding?

I was just sitting here eating some of my Summer Pudding, well actually my Grandma's recipe Summer Pudding, and it occurred to me that you might like to try it.
Actually, it seems a funny old time to be making this, as it's well and truly Autumn now, but here goes - I made this one because the berries were all on special offer in Tesco!

You'll need one medium-sized pudding bowl (the old-fashioned china kind), a loaf of stale white bread (this is more tricky than you think, as no-one sells day-old bread any more), a punnet each of redcurrants, blackcurrants and raspberries, roughly 2 ounces of caster sugar (I use vanilla sugar, which is simply caster sugar into which I put a vanilla pod so that it absorbs the flavour.) Plus a little water in which to barely cook the fruit. And, of course, cream to serve.

First cut the crusts off the bread and cut out the slices to make a lining for your pudding basin. This is great fun - children love helping because it's like doing a jigsaw puzzle. You can even use a mixture of white and brown bread if you like, which gives a rather nice patchwork effect. And stale bread really is best because it soaks up the fruit juices so beautifully. Then string the currants, wash all the fruit and put it altogether with the sugar and a little water into a saucepan. Warm the fruit, rather than acually cooking it, so that the juices run. You don't want the fruit to be overcooked and mushy. Leave it to cool a little, and then spoon the fruit mixture into your lined basin, nearly to the top. Cut out a bread lid for your pudding and spoon some juice over it. If you have any juice left over, save it for serving later. Now you need to find a saucer or small plate which will just fit into the top of your basin. Put some heavy weights onto this, so that the bread is pushed down firmly, and then put your pudding in the 'fridge for at least 12 hours. (I always leave mine for at least a day, and my Grandma used to put hers on a marble slab in the larder for 24 hours.) When you come to turn it out, the pudding should have a lovely purply marbled effect on the outside and a sweet/sharp mix of fruit on the inside. And you can now pour on your reserved juice if there are any stubborn white patches. If you have done it right, you can cut this gorgeous pudding into firm slices, but even if it's not perfect, it is without doubt the best pudding I have ever tasted. Served with Jersey cream or clotted cream it's just divine. And it looks very pretty on a white plate too.

10 comments:

Maggie May said...

Yummy! Thanks for that. Sounds delicious.
If I had a whole pudding in the house, I wouldn't know when to stop!

www.retiredandcrazy.com said...

It sounds absolutely delicious. I'm like Maggie, if I had a whole pudding in the house I would eat it....but I do happen to have a stale loaf... umm?!

family affairs said...

MMM that sounds delicious. Lx

aims said...

Sounds good except for the bread for me of course. No glutens allowed. Drats.

A Mother's Place is in the Wrong said...

Hi Maggie, well I've been rationing myself, and still have some left - it takes great self control! M :-)

Hi RAC, well,see above, it is possible. I hope you tried it. M xx

Hi Lulu, thanks for dropping by, and hope you have a try. It is yummy. M xx

Hi aims, well there is gluten-free bread of course, and it does soak up the juice very well too. M xx

Expat mum said...

Mmmmm, my favourite pudding. I have been making apple and berry crumble with all the berries around at the moment, but I might try this now.

Anonymous said...

Summer pudding sounds divine, especially in Autumn!! But with this recipe, I think one could eat it all year round.

CJ xx

A Mother's Place is in the Wrong said...

Hi Expatmum, thanks for calling by - actually it's a pity you are so far away because your favourite store, M & S, has a great special offer on frozen berries, which are perfect for this! Want me to send you some? M :-)

Hi Crystal, well you're in the perfect place to grab some of those berries.. that's if you have an M & S nearby. It's true, it does taste good all year round.M x

Working Mum said...

Mmm. Love Summer Pudding, but haven't made it for ages. I got the raspberries on offer in Tesco this week, and I have some blackberries daughter and I have picked, may give it a go.

Donna said...

Hi Sweetie! This sounds Wonderful! Never heard of it fixed like this! Gotta' try it!!hughugs