Late Summer Pudding

A few lovely days of late summer means that the berries are still in excellent condition. Perfect for a traditional English dessert, the Summer Pudding.

When this delicious low fat treat is made earlier in the year red currants are used, partly for sharpness and partly because they are so high in pectin they jelly the juices as the pudding chills and add to the texture. It's too late for red currants from the garden now but the blackberries take on their role, include a few reddish ones to improve the set.

I like raspberries but I couldn't eat a whole one... to misquote the old joke. Although they are a lovely fruit with a distinctive flavour they overpower everything they come in contact with, in my opinion anyway, so add them with caution.

On the plate then, raspberries, strawberries; just a few late fruit that I saved from the slugs, blackberries - some plants are better than others this late in the season so taste them before adding too many, elderberries which need to be stripped from the bunch before cooking and rosehips. In the end I decided that preparing and precooking the rosehips was a step too far for this little dish so I left them out but added a big spoonful of last year's rosehip syrup to the pan.

The bread needs to be close textured and made with white flour. Brown bread makes a very worthy meal but detracts from the delicacy of the lightly cooked filling.

For a pudding to serve two I used about 250g of fruit. It was only just enough so if you like extra juice to use as sauce pick a few more berries for it.

Late Summer Pudding

250g mixed soft fruit (see above)
20g sugar or to taste, this was plenty for me.
Sliced white sandwich bread, crusts removed.
Rosehip syrup if you have it.
A pudding bowl which will just contain your raw fruit.

Prepare the fruit, put it in a saucepan with the sugar and syrup (if using) and enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and come half way up the fruit.

Bring to a gentle simmer, cook for a couple of minutes and then turn off the heat, cover the pan and leave to cool.

Line a small pudding basin or plastic dish with the white bread, cut to fit together closely like a jigsaw around the side. Keep a slice to cover the top.

Lift the fruit from the saucepan into the bread lined bowl with a slotted spoon, then gently spoon the juice over until the bread is well soaked and coloured all over. Put on the bread lid and spoon a little juice over that too.

Place a clean saucer or small plate on the pudding and then weight it down with a tin or a stone in plastic wrap. This consolidates the pudding and makes sure the juice is absorbed by the bread, leaving no white patches. Place in the refrigerator and chill until needed.

Unmould the pudding onto a serving plate and serve with vegan yoghurt or cream. Serve any reserved juice in a jug on the side and have a little fine sugar available for any guests who like it sweeter.