6.15.2010

Summer Pudding

When all the berries are upon us and 4th of July is within shouting distance, I love to make a British dessert that involves no baking and makes a smashing presentation. Served with whipped cream, it has the red, white and blue we all like to see on the 4th, British dessert or not. Traditionally, it uses red currants which I can't find right now so I just chose the brightest, freshest, juiciest berries I could find. I suppose you could add some red currant jelly to the mix if you are a purist. You have to make it the day before so the bread has time to soak up all those lovely juices. It's all about the juice, you know. I've seen this in all sizes and shapes so take your pick. Squares, pie-shaped wedges, spoonfuls. Any way you want.


It's an Ina Garten recipe and I did use brioche bread as she suggested. But do you know what I'm going to try the next time? Angel food cake. I think it would doubly delicious. The thing is, it's a pretty sweet dessert to start with, but still, I'm going to try it. Unless you do it first.... let me know how it turns out!


Summer Pudding
From Barefoot Contessa, Family Style, 2002


Ingredients:
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 1/2 cups sugar
3 half-pints fresh raspberries, divided
2 half-pints fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons framboise (raspberry brandy)
1 loaf brioche or egg bread (1 to 1 1/2 pounds)

Method:

Combine the strawberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup of water in a medium saucepan and cook uncovered over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add 2 half-pints of raspberries and all the blueberries and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches a simmer. Cook for one minute. Off the heat, stir in the remaining raspberries and the framboise.
Slice the bread in 1/2-inch-thick slices and remove the crusts. In the bottom of a 7 1/2-inch
round by 3-inch high souffle or baking dish, ladle about 1/2 cup of the cooked berry mixture.
Arrange slices of bread in a pattern (this will become the top when it's unmolded) and then add more berry mixture to saturate. Continue adding bread, cutting it to fit the mold, and berries. Finish with bread and cooked berries, using all of the fruit and syrup.
Place a sheet of plastic wrap loosely over the pudding. Find a plate approximately the same
diameter as the inside of the mold and place it on top. Weight the mold with a heavy can and
refrigerate. Remove the weight after 6 to 8 hours. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap and
refrigerate overnight.
Just before serving, run a knife around the outside of the pudding and unmold it upside down onto a serving plate. Serve in wedges with rum whipped cream.

Rum Whipped Cream:
1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon dark rum

Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When it starts to thicken, add the sugar, vanilla, and rum. Continue to whip until it forms stiff peaks. Serve cold.

Serves 8-10

51 comments:

  1. How lovely! I've never had berry bread pudding. I would be great for the summer!

    xo

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  2. Summer pudding is one of my all time favourites- I usually make it with just plain leftover bread. You are so right, it is *all* about the juices!

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  3. What a gorgeous summer pudding. I just love the color from all the berries.

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  4. How beautiful. This is a very English desert, but I've never had it. It came out so pretty. Look at that amazing colour.
    Love the angel food cake idea.
    *kisses* HH

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  5. Hey, Barbara, did you get my comment on this post? Not sure what happened to it, but there are some really strange things happening on the internet for me today with viruses blocked popping up randomly as I'm doing my blog reading. I wonder if I'm not the only one as blog traffic seems to be to a minimum all around.

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  6. What a beautiful summer dessert! I love the looks of it, it so vibrent! I bet angelfood cake would be perfect!

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  7. Yum! This is a do ahead berry shortcake, and would be so fantastic on a warm summer evening.
    Mimi

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  8. If you think about it, though, American began from British colonists seeking freedom from persecution (if you don't count the Native Americans, I do)...so technically it's an American dessert!

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  9. I think it's so ironic of you to make a British dessert that's 4th of July-esque! Makes me giggle.

    And then it also makes my stomach growl. This looks delicious! Perfect use of berries.

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  10. very few thigns cld be more gorgeous than that pudding! Its simply glorious :)

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  11. Oh Barbara, this really might be the perfect summer dessert being that no heat is involved and you've even incorporated seasonal fruits. Nice! I'm going to bookmark this, as it's hot as Haites here...

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  12. Hi Barbara,
    I have missed some of your wonderful posts while away. This dessert looks as beautiful as I'm sure it tastes. My berries will be late this year, but I would love to give it a try when they come on. We have had such a cold Spring and everything is so late.
    Ihugs

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  13. Barbara, what a nice pudding, love the color and the rum cream...what a great combination :-)

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  14. What a spectacular and stunning pudding Barbara! You've really outdone yourself this time I can't wait till Friday to try this, though perhaps with brioche first.

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  15. oh wow impressive my friend had this at his wedding last week lol

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  16. How gorgeous! And summery. I want a big bowlful right now!

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  17. Oooh, I actually remember the episode where Ina made this -- I've been dying to make it ever since! It looks delicious and absolutely fabulous for summer, Barbara.

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  18. Oh Barbara, what a lovely use of berries - I am sure this tastes totally delicious.

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  19. At my best friend's wedding (I was his best man ... wore a tux instead of a dress to the horror of my fiance) his sister gave me a family recipe for this wonderful pudding... brandy instead of liqueur. I can't wait to try this luscious variation on a perfect summer theme. The color is just the best red ever, isn't it? RUM WHIPPED CREAM, too perfect!

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  20. This is a perfect summer recipe! I love using fresh food that's in season so I can get it cheaper from the farmer's market :)

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  21. What a beautiful summer dessert! I love desserts with berries.

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  22. It screams summer with its berry juiciness yum :)

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  23. I love summer pudding!!! and your is absolutely beauty Barbara! huggsss! gloria

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  24. The colors are so great! I've wanted to try this Ina recipe but haven't yet. I'm afraid it won't pop out of the mold. Angel food cake sound great for this too!

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  25. OH this is too tempting, look at that gorgeous pinkish color with all the berries in there! I know I would love this, you are really tempting me badly with this pudding!

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  26. I love this! Ina's recipe is one of the best around for summer pudding. Yours looks wonderful. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  27. Splendid pudding Barbara! I become besotted by this pudding when I saw it in her book and felt like I needed to make it straight away too! :D

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  28. Hi Barbara! I don't know what sounds better, the dessert or the rum whipcream tha goes on top!! It does sound fab to use angel food cake instead of the brioche! I'm all for anything you can make ahead of time too!! :)

    Hugs ~

    :) T

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  29. I think your pudding looks even more stunning than Ina's! That's a beautiful photo!

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  30. You've done it again Barbara...you got me intrigued about a dessert I've never thought of making before! The rum flavoured cream excelled my attention;o)
    Flavourful wishes, Claudia

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  31. Mmm, this does look delicious. You know, every summer I think about making a summer pudding but so far all the recipes I'd seen used white bread, which just didnt' appeal. Brioche makes so much more sense, and maybe next summer I'll try the Barbara-version with angel cake, yum!

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  32. OMG, this looks beautiful! Ooo...I wonder where should i start first! hehehe.... Probably, I'll have the whole thing all by myself. haha... Hope you're having a wonderful summer holiday, dear!
    Cheers, Kristy

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  33. What a gorgeous color. Perfect for the 4th of July.

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  34. TO. DIE. FOR. Barbara, you always post recipes that are so lovely to look at but better yet, delicious to eat! And the rum whipped cream on top? Oh my!

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  35. So refreshing and delightful! A dessert I really love. Now I am craving some of your fantastic pudding!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  36. Everything you do is so original and beautiful and delicious looking!! You are pretty darn talented girl!

    Blessings-
    Amanda

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  37. Looks beautiful! A prefect summer recipe! So good, I've made it before, and after seeing yours, have to make it again!

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  38. What a lovely celebration of berries! It's stunning! Would love to try it - perfect for a BBQ.

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  39. What a refreshing take on pudding! This would be perfect to serve for a summer holiday.

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  40. My comment must have gotten eaten- I like this food idea!

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  41. If I could eat bacon every day, I would. Esp. on a cheeseburger.

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  42. This looks fantastic. The Daring Bakers made pudding a few months ago, but I chickened out of the challenge. But you are making me want to try it. I love Ina Garten's recipes, so I am sure this is delicious.

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  43. smashing presentation indeed! the taste and texture must be extraordinary as well. score one for the brits. :)

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  44. I agree - this would be amazing with angel food cake!

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  45. Love that bright color and the tanginess of the berries against the smooth whipped cream; great idea to flavor it with rum.

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  46. This looks like the epitome of summer!

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  47. Barbara, Summer pudding is my favourite no bake pudding. My mum used to make us the cake of our choice for our birthdays, and from the age of 5 till 12, I has summer pudding every year(my birthday is in August). We made it in a pudding bowl, and i loved the shiny dome of red and purple! MMMMMM.

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  48. I saw Ina make this recently and thought it looked so delicious. I love the intense colors of this beautiful summer pudding and using angel food cake is a great idea. Oh, I can almost taste it!

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  49. This does look like the perfect summer or July 4th dessert! I'm sure it tastes even better than it looks...and it looks delicious!

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  50. A red, white and blue dessert for the 4th of July, the color of what we eat plays such an important role!

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  51. This is very cool! An unmolded and unbaked bread pudding. We adore bread pudding. I think your angel food cake suggestion a good one and thought cutting back on some of the sugar might help.
    ~ingrid

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