Summer Puddings Recipes

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:

• 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:

• 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:

• Place fruit in saucepan with sugar and cook gently for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Line pudding basin with slices of bread, leaving no gaps. Fill with fruit, cover the top with more bread, to form lid. Cover with saucer and put weights on top, to press the bread down. Refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight. Turn out onto serving plate spoon over extra juice to cover any white part still showing. Serve with clotted cream or ice 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:

• In a medium saucepan, stir together nectarines, sugar and 1/3 cup water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Fold in raspberries and blackberries and cook until juices are thickened, at least three minutes. Taste and add more sugar if necessary. Pour into a large bowl and let cool.
• Line an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap. When fruit is cool, cover base of pan with layer of brioche, cutting it to fit. Spoon 1/3 of the fruit on top. Cover with layer of brioche. Repeat, ending with fruit. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on top, then another loaf pan containing 2 to 3 pounds of weights (soup cans work well). Chill overnight.
• When ready to serve, whisk together the crème fraîche, mascarpone and honey. Spoon into a serving bowl to be passed at the table. Remove weights, pan and top layer of plastic wrap from pudding. Unmold onto a serving plate with a lip so juices do not spill. Slice and serve.

Steps:

• Place the berries and sugar in a medium-sized bowl and macerate lightly. Set aside for one hour or until the berries have given off about three-quarters of a cup of juice.
• Cut the bread into half-inch slices and remove the crusts. Then cut the bread into 2-inch fingers. Line the sides of a two-quart souffle dish with the bread and fill in the bottom tightly, cutting the slices to fit as needed.
• Combine the berry juice with the liqueur in a small bowl and brush the bread lining with the berry mixture, just until damp.
• Whip the cream and gently fold into the mashed berries with the zest. Spoon the mixture into the souffle dish and cover the top with the bread to form a lid. Brush with the juice mixture, just until damp. Cover with plastic wrap.
• Set a plate on top of the pudding that will just fit inside the souffle dish to lightly weigh it down. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
• When ready to serve, remove the plate and invert the souffle dish onto a serving dish and serve.