Summer Pudding

For Gary's work BBQ yesterday I decided to also make a summer pudding. I have never made a summer pudding before and decided that it would perfect for the current weather. I used a combination of recipes and therefore this is my own creation. 

Ingredients:

800g Frozen Blackforest Fruits (summer fruits would be better but Tesco had run out!) 

100g Caster Sugar

1 Loaf of bread

227g Tub Clotted Cream

Method:

Place the fruit and the sugar in a saucepan and heat until boiling. Simmer for 2-3 minutes so the fruit is starting to soften. 

Fruit simmering

Remove 1/4 of the mixture and place it in a blender so that it produces a puree. 

Fruit separated off to be pureed

Line a bowl with cling film, this will be the bowl you make the pudding in. 

Cling filmed bowl

Cut the crusts off the bread, dip a piece in the puree and place, puree side up, in the base of the bowl. 

Do the same with the bread to line the sides of the bowl and reserve some bread to place on the top. 

Puree in the bowl

Place the remainder of the puree in the bowl lining the sides and then half fill with the cooked fruit. Place the clotted cream in the centre of the bowl and then fill the bowl with the remaining fruit. Put the final pieces of bread on top. Put a little weight on the top and leave in the fridge overnight for the juices to soak through. 

Half filled with clotted cream

When ready to serve carefully turn the bowl upside down and the pudding should tip out. Finally remove the clingfilm. 

Ready to serve, a little squashed. 

 And then slice it up!!Today we have Gary's photography skills, you're not allowed to say they're better than mine!! 

Summer pudding inside

The verdict: Having never made it before I thought it turned out quite well and tasted good. My pudding collapsed a little so it didn't form a nice bowl shape and this also mean the clotted cream crept to the outside rather than being a nice surprise in the middle. The pudding tasted really good, the fruit was cooked enough to be sweet but not so much that it lost all texture. The bread wasn't as soggy as I would like and next time I will add more of the juice so this can seep through. Gary's collegues seem to like it, that's a relief and now we have some left overs to demolish!!