This traditional pudding just sums up a British summer and nothing can better the flavour of fresh British berries ripened naturally in summer sunshine!
Serves 6
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes
Chilling time: overnight
Ingredients
600g/1lb 6oz raspberries
600g/1lb 6oz strawberries hulled and halved if large
600g/1lb 6oz blackberries
300g/11oz caster sugar
Juice of ½ lemon
150ml/ ¼ pt white wine
300ml/ ½ pt water
6 slices of thick cut white bread
Fresh jersey double cream, to serve
Method
- Put half the fruits in a large saucepan with the sugar, lemon juice, wine and water
- Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for five minutes until softened, stirring occasionally.
- Lift out the fruit into a sieve using a slotted spoon, strain any liquid back into the saucepan, then put the fruit in a bowl on the side. Allow it to cool (this is so you don’t cook the raw fruits in the hot ones)
- Reserve 200ml/7fl oz of the fruit syrup for painting the bread.
- Return the pan to the heat and boil the remaining liquid for 20-25 minutes until syrupy. Allow to cool.
- Combine the cooled cooked fruit and reduced syrup with the raw fruit. (I like the mixture of cooked and not-cooked for better flavour and texture).
- Line a 1.8 litre/3 ¼ pt pudding basin with two sheets of overlapping cling film (the edges of the cling film should hang over the top of the basin so that they can enclose the pudding).
- Cut the crusts off the bread and cut each slice into two rectangles.
- Thoroughly paint one side of each rectangle with the reserved syrup.
- Cut and paint a circle of bread that fits the bottom of the basin. Put this in the basin with the red side facing the cling film.
- Arrange the bread all the way around the inside of the basin, overlapping slightly where the joints meet, with the painted side always facing the cling film.
- Spoon the fruit into the basin and pack down well. Top neatly with the remaining painted slices of bread.
- Cover with the overhanging pieces of cling film and place a side plate holding a heavy weight on top to press it down. Put in the fridge and leave overnight.
- When ready to serve, remove the weight, open the cling film and invert the pudding on to a serving plate. Remove the cling film. Should there be any syrup left, using a pastry brush, daub any pale patches with it. Serve the pudding with cream.
