How to bake the ultimate summer pudding

Bread was thought to be healthier than sweet pastry and the fruit was known to give patients a boost.

The lightness and tartness have helped the dessert prevail as a good after-dinner treat when temperatures are high and something more filling would be too much. You can, of course, serve it with a scoop of ice cream or sweetened whipped cream to add some decadence.

In general, I do not use cling film for sustainability reasons but this is one instance where I have not found a good alternative. The cling film is soft, and pliable enough to allow you to really pack the bread and berries, and it does not leave indentations which would rip the soft bread the way greaseproof parchment would.

The beautiful red juice of the stewed berries seeps through the pale bread to create a dessert to be proud of without too much skill or effort.

You can decorate the finished result with edible flowers or pile it high with some more fresh berries before serving.

Baker’s tips

Brown bread will not work for this recipe, neither will slices of bread with large holes. A dense white bread is best.

If your fruit is very ripe and sweet, you may need less sugar. Similarly, if you taste it and the currants, in particular, are very bitter, you can add a little more sugar to sweeten the recipe.

Be patient and keep the heat low when you are dissolving the sugar. You will know it is ready when there is no gritty feeling at the bottom of the saucepan and the berries should be beginning to burst. There should be a good bit of juice, which you can use to soak the bread. If the berries are not very juicy, you can add a tablespoon of orange juice towards the end of cooking.

You can use frozen berries in place of the fresh ones. Frozen berries may have less natural sugar so you may need to add a little extra sugar. There may also be extra juice which you can set aside if it does not all get soaked up by the bread. It is handy for pouring over the dessert once turned out.

Turn the pudding upside down speedily onto a large plate and shake firmly to dislodge it. If you are nervous about it coming away, you can use a butter knife to very gently pull it away from the pudding bowl before you do this. Peel the cling film off the outside of the pudding.

If your bread is patchy with white spots after you turn the dessert over, take any spare juice, spoon it over the bread and allow it to soak in.

If you have used fresh berries, you can keep the pudding in the fridge for about three days. If you used frozen berries, it is best eaten on the first day. It does not freeze in either case.

Three delicious variations

Pear and raspberry pudding

In place of berries, use stewed pears. Gently simmer two chopped, peeled pears with one chopped, peeled apple. Add the juice of two oranges and 400g of raspberries. Simmer them all with one teaspoon of vanilla extract and follow the rest of the recipe. You may need extra stewed raspberries to pour over the dessert once it has been turned out.

Apricot summer pudding

Adding fresh apricots to the dessert adds another layer of flavour. I like to serve this version with custard. Add four chopped, peeled apricots in place of the black and red currants. You will need about 200g of apricot. Follow the recipe but also add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the mixture after it has been simmering. If the apricots are not very juicy, you can add a tablespoon or so of freshly squeezed orange juice to the stewed fruit.

Orange zest summer pudding

You can add the zest of two extra oranges to the mixture for added flavour as well as a tablespoon of orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau. It gives you extra juicy syrup to pour over your dessert at the end.