Serves 6–8
The scorching heat of high summer is hardly conducive to gorging on desserts but now – while the air’s still mild and British berries are approaching their best – is their perfect time to cap your meal with the explosively fruity joy that is a summer pudding.
And the recipe below isn’t just any summer pudding. At her eponymous cookery school in Glamorgan, Angela Gray puts a delicately floral spin on the classic pud, introducing a touch of elegance to the otherwise bold and brash flavour bomb.
This recipe is taken from the book Summer Recipes by Angela Gray, published by Graffeg, and photographed by Huw Jones.
Ingredients
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850g mixed red/black fruits such as raspberries, blackcurrants, good strawberries, a few redcurrants
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10–12 slices of firm, good-quality white bread
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3 rounded tablespoons sugar
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2 tablespoons water
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1 tablespoon cassis
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1⁄2 teaspoon rose essence
For the glaze
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150g frozen red/black fruits
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3 tablespoons sugar
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4 tablespoons water
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2 tablespoon cassis
Method
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Prepare the fruit. Pull the redcurrants from their stems and put them, with the raspberries, in a stainless-steel saucepan over a low heat. Taste the fruit for sweetness and add the sugar accordingly. For normal, sweet raspberries and slightly tart redcurrants, add 3 tablespoons or so of sugar. Sometimes you may need slightly less or more. Pour in the water.
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The currants will start to burst and give out their juice. They need no longer than 3–4 minutes at a gentle simmer. The fruit should be shiny and there should be plenty of deep-coloured juice in the pan. Turn off the heat and stir in the cassis and rose essence.
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Cut the crusts off the bread, setting one slice aside for the base,
then cut each of the rest into three long fingers. Using a glass or cup as a template, cut a disc of bread from the reserved slice, dip into the fruit juice and push into the base of a 2-pint pudding basin. -
Line the inside of the basin with the strips of bread, dipping them into the juice first, then pushing them together, slightly overlapping to form a secure wall so no fruit escapes. There will be enough bread left over for the top. Fill with the fruit and its juice almost right to the top. Lay the remaining bread on top of the fruit, patching up where necessary. Put the basin in a shallow dish to catch any juice that escapes, then lay a at plate or small tray on top with a heavy weight to compact the fruit down. Leave in the fridge overnight.
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To make the glaze, place the fruit and sugar in a pan with 4 tablespoons of water. Bring to the boil and cook for about 10 minutes over a high heat so that the fruit breaks down, releasing all the juice. Pass the fruit and juice through a sieve, using the back of a ladle to push the pulp and juice through into a pan, then stir in the cassis. The glaze should coat the back of a spoon. Cool the glaze, and place in the fridge overnight.
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To serve, remove the weights and slide a palette knife around the edge, pushing carefully down between bread and basin so as not to tear the bread. Put a plate on top, and then, holding the plate in place, shake firmly and lift off the basin to reveal your pudding. Spoon the cassis sauce over the top and garnish with fresh fruit, mint leaves and rose petals.