Classic summer pudding recipe

Our classic summer pudding recipe is an easy dessert made with seasonal berries like blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. This simple summer pudding serves 4-6 people and will take around 40 mins to prepare and cook. This delicious pud can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. This recipe is a great way to use up leftover bread that you might have sitting in the bread bin. A portion of this tasty dessert works out at only 230 calories per serving which is great if you're counting calories or trying to make dessert a little healthier. The berries in this recipe count towards your 5-a-day. Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. Serve with cream or ice cream and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 10-12 slices white bread, medium sliced (use bread that is 1-2 days old)
• 1kg mixed summer berries, eg, redcurrants, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries
• 175g caster sugar
• Cream, to serve
• Strawberry leaves, to decorate
• 9.5cm plain round cutter

1.5 litre pudding basin

Method

1. Cut a round out of one slice of bread, using the cutter. Remove crusts from the remaining slices. Reserve 4 slices to cover the top and cut the remaining slices into 3 strips each.
2. Prepare the fruit as necessary. Take redcurrants off stalks, using a fork, then wash and dry all fruits.
3. Pour 6 tbsp water into a pan and add the sugar. Place the pan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add any redcurrants and blueberries to the pan and simmer gently for 1 min. Remove the pan from the heat and add the raspberries and sliced strawberries.
4. Leave until the fruits are cool, then strain the fruits through a nylon strainer, catching the juices in a bowl.
5. Dip the round piece of bread in the juice, then place in the base of the pudding basin. Dip each of the other bread slices in the juice and position around the sides of the bowl, making sure you don’t overlap them too much as you don’t want really thick layers of bread.
6. Spoon the fruit into the centre of the bowl, pressing it down quite firmly.
7. Cover the top with the remaining 4 slices of bread and tear away the excess around the edge of the bowl.
8. Peeling back the bread slightly, pour most of the remaining juice into the top of the bowl. Brush the remaining fruit juices over the bread on top.
9. Place the pudding basin in a shallow bowl to catch any juice that may leak out. Cover pudding with a layer of cling film and then put a plate on top with about 1kg weights on top. Chill overnight, or for up to 2 days.
10. To serve: Remove plate with the weights and take off the cling film. Place a serving plate, with a rim to catch any juices, over the top of the pudding and invert the plate; shake hard to release the pudding, then place on work surface and take off the bowl. Decorate with strawberry leaves. Serve wedges of the pudding with cream.