Grandma’s Summer Fruit Pudding

Your new reason to go fruit-picking this weekend

A spoonful of summer fruit pudding, made by my grandma, meant only one thing as a little girl – the undiscovered promise of six glorious weeks of summer holidays. Cue trips to her allotment, family camping expeditions and mandatory visits to Cleethorpes sea-front for a cone of syrup-laced ice-cream.

This recipe, consisting of sugar, white bread and summer fruits, is about as British, seasonal and simple as they come. All we need now is a big dollop of summer sun.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Chilling time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 300g soft summer fruit (pick from fresh raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, redcurrants, cherries, or use tinned/mixed frozen summer fruits)
• 2 tablespoons sugar, to taste
• 10 slices of thin, white bread
• Cream, to serve

Method:

1. Remove crusts and slice bread into thick strips (cut out circles for base and lid)
2. Stew fruit and sugar together in a few tablespoons of hot water
3. Dip bread strips into juice and line a well-greased medium-sized pudding basin (dipped side facing outwards)
4.  Pour stewed fruit and juice into basin
5. Cover with circle lid, or thick strips of bread
6. Cover basin with greased paper and place a saucer and a 2lb weight on top (this allows the juices to soak into the bread)
7. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes
8. Turn out, garnish with fresh raspberries, and serve up with custard, cream or sauce

Today’s Tip

Celebrity chef James Martin whipped up this very pudding as part of a WI cookery demonstration last month, prompting appreciative nods from an audience of 70 members. James says:

1. Line the pudding basin with olive oil and cling film before placing in juice-soaked bread strips – this helps to turn out the chilled pudding with ease
2. To jazz things up, stir a few fresh basil leaves into stewed fruit, saving one sprig for a fancy garnish

Me and my grandma Sylvia - WI member and baker extraordinaire