I am very fond of British puddings.
Summer Pudding
Butter a pudding bowl
Line it with slices of soft white bread, no crusts, so that there are no gaps
Gently heat berries of any kind with a little water. Sweeten as desired. Reserve some berries and juice
Fill the pudding bowl
Cover with slices of soft white bread so that there are no gaps
Weight with a plate or something
Leave in the refrigerator overnight
Slide a knife gently between pudding and bowl
Unmould the pudding gently by turning it upside down onto a plate
Eat cold with the reserved berries, juice and cream. Ice cream is good. Clotted cream is outstanding. Blackberry whiskey poured on at table is wonderful.
So good.
I use mulberries sometimes in this pudding.
We have mulberry trees not as old as Philadelphia but not so young either.
We forage for mulberries in June. They have not been commercialized.
Sometimes I use Blackberry Whiskey adapted from a British recipe to enrich Summer Pudding
Easy to make but a year’s wait to taste because it needs ageing for at least a year.
The wait radically and deliciously alters the taste of all three constituents. The blackberries remain whole.
Blackberry Whiskey
Fill up a clean glass jar with blackberries up to the two-thirds mark
Pour in white sugar up to the half mark
Pour in whiskey (the cheapest) up to the rim
Close the jar tight. Shake for a few days until the sugar is dissolved.
Store in a dark, cool place for a year.
We drink the whiskey in winter carefully because you forget that it is straight whiskey made heady with sugar.
The Bacchantes are exulting in these photos.
In winter there are libations to Dionysos who is in his element as soon as the cold comes.
Have you tried Eton Mess?
What a name for a pudding! No, I haven’t tried it but I’ll look it up. Don’t you have a blog by that name? Which I can answer by looking that up, too………Sarah
It’s simply strawberries and cream with meringue broken up and sugar. Nigella Lawson’s recipe adds pomegranate juice.
I’ll try it………How couldn’t I?……..Thanks. Sarah
Your pudding looks really good! I don’t think I’ve ever had an opportunity to try a summer pudding.
Really easy to make if the berries are ready to hand and they don’t even have to be whole or have retained their shape…….So this can be made with frozen berries all year round even if fresh is best……….Sarah
So easy to make and it is so delicious on a late summer day! Sarah
I love almost all berries, but I don’t drink alcohol. So I’ll just keep on enjoying the berries. You – enjoy the fruit of your labours!
Bravo on the summer pudding, Sarah. I’ve not made one in ages. I have lots of autumn raspberries at the moment. I’m wondering if one could adapt the recipe with lightly poached apples mixed in with them. It should work. Bon appetit and chin-chin!
Wonderful adaptation, Tish. Perhaps one could use a number of fruits, in season for this. So easy to make. Bon appetit!
You are spurring me on. Only lacking some white bread.
That, of course, is the politically incorrect heart of this pudding: soft white bread. But still and all, it is worth it! Sarah
I agree even though I’m wholemeal bread person. Anyway, sometimes really well made white bread can’t be beaten. And for summer puds it can’t be. Likewise in bread and butter pudding. Delia Smith (I think) has a recipe where you make the latter from delicately made white bread marmalade sandwiches cut into triangles before adding the custard.
Thank you for this………..We are not doing well here and I am storing away the flavoured and unflavoured liqueurs for the coming electoral nightmare. But now I see those puddings: bread and butter pudding with this wonderful Delia Smith variation; Granny’s leg;
Eton Mess mentioned by one of the readers of this post; clafoutis with the apples and pears and Asian pears of autumn; coffee mousse which we had every Sunday at school………….These are going to help us though this incomprehensible time also! I’ll be getting to work on this…….Sarah
Brilliant, Sarah. One has to find comfort as best one can, and your line-up sounds quite fabulous.
Sounds delish!!! And your photos add a welcoming touch. I’m not the berry best at making desserts, but I’m going to try this one next month. If I’m a success, all kudos will go to you. Thanks for the recipes.