Summer Puddings Recipes

Steps:

• Wash the fruit and place it all (except the strawberries) in a large pan with the caster sugar and 3 tbsp water. Gently heat for 3 mins until the juice from the fruit starts to seep out. Add the strawberries and cook for 2 mins more. Drain the juice from the fruit through a sieve set over a large bowl. Taste the juice and add a little more sugar if necessary.
• Line a 1.2-litre pudding basin with a double layer of cling film, leaving an overlap around the top. Remove the crusts from the brioche and slice the loaf into 1cm-thick slices along the length of the loaf. Cut 1 slice in half widthways and trim the corners to fit into the base of the bowl - you may need to use both squares, trimmed to fit.
• Trim the slices to the correct length to line the sides of the bowl. To assemble the pudding, dip the slices of brioche into the fruit juice, then use them to line the basin. Start with the bottom pieces, then lay soaked rectangles of brioche along the sides of the bowl. If you have any gaps left at the end, patch these up with any remaining brioche, but make sure you save some for the base.
• Tip the fruit into the lined basin. Finish the pudding with a layer of brioche to make a base, then pour over any remaining liquid. Wrap the overhanging cling film over the top.
• Place a small plate, which will fit snugly on top of the basin, over the cling film and weigh down with 2 x 400g cans of tomatoes or beans. Leave the pudding weighed down in the fridge for at least a couple of hours, or overnight if possible.
• To serve, unwrap the cling film and place a serving plate over the pudding. Flip it over, remove the basin and carefully peel away the cling film. Serve in slices with clotted cream, if you like.

Steps:

• The day before you plan to serve the pudding, line a 2 quart mixing bowl with plastic wrap. Line the plastic wrap with the white bread slices, trimming to fit so that the pieces fit together neatly. Save enough bread to cover the top of the pudding.
• In a saucepan, combine the apple juice concentrate and all the berries. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the strawberries begin to soften, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat immediately.
• Stirring, dissolve the gelatin in the water, then add the mixture to the berries and stir to combine. Spoon into the bread-lined bowl. Cover with remaining bread slices, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and slightly weight it down. Chill overnight.
• When ready to serve, whip the cream with an electric mixer at high speed until it forms soft peaks.
• Remove the pudding from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Carefully turn the pudding out onto a platter, remove the bowl and the plastic wrap. Serve in slices with whipped cream on top.

Steps:

• Bring out the juices: Wash fruit and gently dry on kitchen paper - keep strawberries separate. Put sugar and 3 tbsp water into a large pan. Gently heat until sugar dissolves - stir a few times. Bring to a boil for 1 min, then tip in the fruit (not strawberries). Cook for 3 mins over a low heat, stirring 2-3 times. The fruit will be softened, mostly intact and surrounded by dark red juice. Put a sieve over a bowl and tip in the fruit and juice.
• Line the bowl with cling film and prepare the bread: Line the 1.25-litre basin with cling film as this will help you to turn out the pudding. Overlap two pieces of cling film in the middle of the bowl as it's easier than trying to get one sheet to stick to all of the curves. Let the edges overhang by about 15cm. Cut the crusts off the bread. Cut 4 pieces of bread in half, a little on an angle, to give 2 lopsided rectangles per piece. Cut 2 slices into 4 triangles each and leave the final piece whole.
• Build the pud: Dip the whole piece of bread into the juice for a few secs just to coat. Push this into the bottom of the basin. Now dip the wonky rectangular pieces one at a time and press around the basin's sides so that they fit together neatly, alternately placing wide and narrow ends up. If you can't quite fit the last piece of bread in it doesn't matter, just trim into a triangle, dip in juice and slot in. Now spoon in the softened fruit, adding the strawberries here and there as you go.
• Let flavours mingle then serve: Dip the bread triangles in juice and place on top - trim off overhang with scissors. Keep leftover juice for later. Bring cling film up and loosely seal. Put a side plate on top and weight down with cans. Chill for 6 hrs or overnight. To serve, open out cling film then put a serving plate upside-down on top and flip over. serve with leftover juice, any extra berries and cream.

Steps:

• In a saucepan, cook berries and lemon juice over medium heat until berries release their juices but still hold their shape, about 2 minutes. Stir in sugar and salt; cook until dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes. Strain sauce; reserve whole berries. Let cool.
• Line a cupcake tin with plastic wrap, pressing it into cups. Using cookie cutters or an inverted glass, cut out six 2 1/4-inch rounds and twelve 2 3/4-inch rounds from bread.
• Pour 1 tablespoon sauce into each cup; add 1 tablespoon berries. Top with smaller bread rounds; add another tablespoon each of sauce and berries. Make another layer of bread, sauce, and berries; top with remaining bread rounds. Press down firmly with the bottom of a glass.
• Fold plastic over; cover with a baking sheet. Weight with a heavy skillet. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
• To serve, pull up on plastic wrap, and gently unmold each pudding onto plates; drizzle with sauce.

Steps:

• Line the bottom of a 2- to 2 1/2-quart bowl with bread, tearing bread as necessary to completely cover bottom without overlapping. Halve remaining bread slices lengthwise. Line sides of bowl with overlapping bread slices (reserve some for covering the top); trim bread flush with top of bowl.
• Combine berries, sugar, cinnamon, and 1/4 cup water in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, gently stirring a few times, just until berries start to soften and currants begin to burst and release their juices. Do not let mixture boil. Remove from heat. Let cool 10 minutes.
• Pour berry mixture into bowl and cover with a single layer of remaining bread slices, tearing bread as necessary to fill in any gaps. Place a round dish or pan slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl on top of bread, and press down on plate until juices rise to surface. Place a heavy can or other weight on top of plate. Transfer to refrigerator and let chill at least 12 hours and up to 1 day.
• Remove weighted plate from basin. Run a thin knife around edge between bread and bowl. Invert onto a rimmed serving plate and lift bowl to release pudding. Stir together mascarpone and cream in a bowl until smooth, then whisk to soft peaks. Cut pudding into wedges and serve with whipped mascarpone cream.

Steps:

• Mix the first 3 ingredients and leave for 5-10 mins. If you're using defrosted fruit, tip in some of the juice, too. Meanwhile, line a 1.2 litre pudding basin with cling film, leaving an overhang. Cut a circle of bread to fit the base, then quarter the rest.
• Drain the juices from the soaked fruit into a bowl, dip the bread in until soaked. Layer up the fruit and bread, pour over the remaining juices and cover with the overhanging cling film - weigh down with a small plate and a couple of cans. Chill in the fridge for 10 mins or until ready to eat. Serve with single cream.