This strawberry summer pudding is a light and simple variation of the seasonal staple. A great way to enjoy summer pudding before the currants are ready.
The recipe was shared with us by James Barber, chef at the Aldeburgh White Lion (previously at the Brudenell Hotel in Aldeburgh), after demonstrating the recipe at the Suffolk Show. James recommends serving the pudding with a good quality crème fraîche, such as the award-winning Marybelle crème fraîche that we stock in the farm shop.
You could add basil, mint or balsamic to the filling, if you’re feeling creative.
Suffolk strawberry summer pudding with @MarybelleDairy creme fraiche, as demonstrated @SuffolkShow @BrudenellHotel pic.twitter.com/nubrz9bpgo
— James barber (@chefjamesbarber) May 30, 2014
Strawberry summer pudding
Makes 8 individual puddings.
- 8 slices medium sliced white bread, crusts removed
- 800g strawberries
- Icing sugar (to taste)
Directions
- Choose 8 small round moulds of the same size, ideally about 5 cm deep and wide. Any small bowl will do.
- Cut off a piece of cling film twice the surface area of the mould. Fold the cling film back on itself and rub to get rid of any air pockets, which will make the pudding easier to turn out. Then line the moulds with the cling film, leaving plenty of overlap over the edges.
- Hull the strawberries and cut into quarters.
- Blitz half the strawberries in a liquidiser to make a sauce, and – if you don’t like seeds – pass it through a sieve.
- Taste the sauce, adding a little sieved icing sugar if you find it sharp.
- Cut two circles, the size of the mould, from each slice of bread (ideally with a cutter). Then cut rectangles, the height of the moulds, from what remains of each slice. These will form the sides of the puddings.
- Dip the bread in the sauce until well coated. Place a soaked circle of bread at the bottom of each mould, and two rectangles around the inner sides.
- Mix the remaining quartered strawberries with the sauce, and fill each mould as full as possible.
- Place the remaining soaked circle of bread on top, then fold the cling film over to seal the puddings.
- Place the filled moulds in a deep-ish tray and top off with another tray. Press down lightly (perhaps with a bottle of wine!) to compress the puddings. Be warned, this can get messy!
- Leave to chill in the fridge for 4-6 hours for best results. You can take out them out sooner if pushed for time.
- To serve, gently open the cling film to expose the pudding, then flip each pudding onto its own small plate. Carefully lift the mould and cling film away from the pudding.
- Pour any remaining sauce over the pudding, and serve with a scoop of crème fraîche. The summer pudding goes well with ice cream, double cream, whipped cream – or anything you like!
