Summer Pudding
We were sitting in a small cafe in New York a few years ago, back when we lived in the city, and a friend breezed in, hot from a morning walk, blotting her forehead. She saw us, waved a drippy hand, and said, "Have you made your summer pudding yet?"
There are stranger how-do-you-dos, I suppose. Especially in New York. But this one certainly brought us up short. We shot each other that look that married couples perfect and said, "Um, no."
Well, I'll give her this: summer pudding has since become a necessity around here, an old-fashioned, unmolded, British dessert that requires minimal effort in the heat but pays off big time when served. Plus, it's made with white bread. The kind that I grew up with. (Or as we used to say in the South, "that I come up on.") Sliced sandwich bread. OK, not the stuff with hydrogenated oil and corn syrup. Blech. Instead, sliced white bread that's heavenly soft without anything fake in the mix.
Here's the way to get a summer pudding done.
Mix 8 cups strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and/or blackberries in a large saucepan with 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons rum, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. (You can vary the proportions among the berries--for example, try 4 cups strawberries with 4 cups blueberries, raspberries, and/or blackberries to fill out the amount). Cook over medium heat until the berries soften and begin to break down but have not broken down to mush, a little jam-like to activate the natural pectin, maybe 5 minutes once the mixture comes to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Set aside off the heat.
Get a whole loaf of white sliced sandwich bread and cut off the crusts. Line a large mixing bowl with the slices, tearing some to fit so that the bowl is lined up the sides. You can be fancier and use a 2-quart soufflé dish, the way we do in The Ultimate Cook Book; but honestly, a mixing bowl is more in the spirit of the thing.
Ladle in some of the berry mixture, maybe a cup or even a little more. Top with more bread slices, again tearing any to fit. Add more of the berries, layering them between more bread slices until you get to the top. Don't forget that you have to add a little more berry mixture each time because the bowl is getting wider as it moves to the upper lip. And save a smidgen of the berry mixture back to coat the top at the end.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, set a small plate on top, and set a big can of tomatoes or something on the plate to weight it down. if the mixture is right up to the lip of the bowl and you see the berry mixture start to burble up as the can is set on it, put the whole contraption on a lipped baking sheet to catch any drips. Set all this in the fridge for 24 hours to let the pectin do its work as the thing chills.
Done. Unmold. (It may require a little shaking to come loose onto a serving plate.) Oh, did I mention the whipped cream? Absolutely essential. A little dollop on the plate with each slice. So I have one question left for you. Have you made your summer pudding yet?
berries, blackberry, blueberry, dessert, fruit desserts, raspberry, strawberry
Reader Comments (2)
I ran out of white bread and made it with whole wheat. Interesting, nutty flavor. I definitely prefer white.
Laura: We've also made it with oat bread--a little softer but with a slight nuttiness. And have tried it to with a "smooth" loaf of whole grain from Whole Foods (the kind without any noticeable seeds or fibers). Not quite as successful, as you seem to indicate.