A Classy Christmas Summer Pudding Recipe
Mason Cash & Co have been making pottery kitchenware since the 1800's. It’s very easy for me to write about the Mason Cash pudding basin because I’ve owned one for over 30 years! I’ve been making my Christmas pudding in their classic 20cm White Pudding Basin forever it would seem. When it’s not pressed into service for Christmas pudding production, I use the pudding basin as a bowl. It’s such a handy size when making small cake mixtures, whisking egg whites, melting chocolate and even cooking rice in the microwave. It’s such a versatile bowl because it can be used in the oven or microwave and best of all it's dishwasher safe.
As I like to mature my Christmas pudding, I made mine 2 months ago. Instead of sharing my Christmas pudding recipe with you, I thought I’d share a summer pudding recipe with you instead. What could be more summery than a classic English Summer pudding made with fresh berries?
Here’s the recipe for you which needs to be made the day before serving. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20ml tablespoon.
Summer Pudding Ingredients
- 250g strawberries
- 125g blueberries
- 125g blackberries
- 250g raspberries
- 125g redcurrants (if unavailable makeup with another berry)
- 1 vanilla bean
- ½ -⅔ cup caster sugar
- 1-2 tbs water
- 1-day old white loaf, crusts removed, cut into 1 cm slices. You’ll need about 8 slices.
- Butter for greasing
- To decorate - mixed berries
- To serve - 200 gm double cream
Method
1. Hull the strawberries and halve or quarter if large. If using red currants remove the currants from their stems by using the tines of a fork. Rinse the berries in cold water, removing any damaged berries.
2. Put the berries into a large saucepan with ½ cup sugar, vanilla bean and water then place over a medium heat for about 3-4 minutes to allow the sugar to dissolve and the juices to run a little from the berries.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. It’s important not to cook the berries too much or they will become too mushy. Allow the mixture to cool; discard the vanilla bean then strain the mixture through a fine sieve to separate the fruit from the berry juices. Test the berries for sweetness and add a little more sugar to taste.
4. Lightly grease a pudding basin and line the bowl with 2 large pieces of cling film allowing some overhang. From one bread slice, cut out a round large enough to fit pudding bowl base and place in the bowl.
5. Cut 4 bread slices in half diagonally to form triangles and cut 4 slices in half vertically to form rectangles. Lay the sliced bread around the sides overlapping a little, press the bread into the sides of the bowl with your hands so you really make a seal. Patch any gaps with pieces of bread.
6. Once the mould is lined with bread, spoon the cooled berries into centre and press gently down to level, then spoon half the berry liquid over, reserving the remaining liquid. You can trim any excess bread with a pair of kitchen scissors at this stage.
7. Completely cover the top of the pudding with more pieces of bread, then fold the plastic wrap over to seal the pudding and rest a plate that fits directly on the bread (inside the bowl) and place a weight on top to compress the pudding. Place in the fridge for about twenty-four hours.
8. When ready to serve, uncover the top of the pudding then turn the pudding out onto a serving plate, removing the cling film. Use a pastry brush to soak any bits of bread that still look white with some of the reserved juice.
9. Top with the extra berries and some of the reserved syrup. Cut the pudding into slices and serve with the cream.
Next Read: Our Top 10 Crowd-Pleasing Desserts This Christmas
