Serves 4

This is the perfect summer pudding! Traditional and time consuming, but so tasty, and perfect for after a summer salad.

Ingredients:

  • 400g raspberries
  • 800g strawberries, cut in half
  • 600g redcurrants or blackcurrants
  • 300g caster sugar
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • A splash of elderflower cordial
  • 300 ml water
  • 12 slices thick cut white bread
  • Double cream (to serve – optional)

Method

1. Put half of the fruit, plus the water, lemon juice, elderflower cordial and sugar in a pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 4-5 mins, until the fruit is soft and the sugar has dissolved completely.
2. Take the fruit out with a slotted spoon and put it to one side, leaving the juice in the pan. Bring the juice back to the boil and cook for 20-25 mins, until it has reduced to a syrup. Strain the syrup into a clean pan, keeping 200ml in a bowl.
3. Return the cooked fruit to the pan with the syrup and allow to cool. Once cool, add the rest of the fruit and stir well.
4. Line a 3-pint pudding basin with two sheets of cling film so that it hangs over the edges. Cut 10 slices of the bread into equal sized rectangles (crusts removed). Use the fruit syrup that you kept back in a bowl to thoroughly paint the bread.
5. Use the remaining two pieces to form a top and bottom for your pudding. Cut a small circle from one piece to sit at the bottom of your pudding basin, and soak it in the syrup. From the last piece of bread, cut a circle that will cover the top of the pudding basin to create a lid – use the basin as a stencil.
6. Put the small circle at the bottom of the basin and arrange the rectangles of bread around the sides of your pudding basin, overlapping slightly, so it is completely covered.
7. Fill the pudding basin with the fruit and syrup. Paint the lid with the remaining syrup on one side and place over the top of the pudding basin, wrap the excess cling film around the pudding.
8. Place a dish over the top of the pudding basin to weight it down – put a tin of something on top of the plate to squish the pudding down. Place in the fridge & wait 24 hours.
9. When you want to serve your pudding, unwrap it and upturn the basin. Cut into wedges and serve with double cream.

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