Aussie recipe: Summer pudding

It’s summer down under, so how better to celebrate than with an icy, fruit-filled delight … summer pudding. It has a British heritage, but it’s an Australian favourite!

Ingredients

• 4 punnets strawberries (quartered)
• 6 punnets raspberries
• 6 punnets blueberries
• 400g caster sugar (plus extra lining for the bowl)
• 1½ cups water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted for lining the bowl)
• 1 loaf fresh white sliced bread (crusts removed)
• double cream (to serve)

How to prepare

• Combine the berries, sugar and water in a medium pan.
• Stir gently over a low heat without boiling, until sugar dissolves.
• Simmer for about 5 minutes without stirring, until the juices are released from the fruit.
• Strain the juices from the fruit in a sieve and keep handy.
• Lightly butter a 3-4 litre glass bowl, sprinkle with a little caster sugar and shake away the excess.
• Cut half the bread slices into triangles, leaving the rest in squares.
• Line the sugared bowl with the triangular bread slices around the bottom, firmly packed to totally cover the base.
• Line the sides of the bowl with the squares of bread, overlapping slightly.
• Fill the strained fruit into the centre of the bowl and pour enough juice in to nearly cover the fruit, ensuring the juices run though the bread slices lining the bowl, to colour.
• Cover the top of the fruit with more triangular pieces of bread, overlapping and pour a little more juice over to saturate the bread.
• Place the bowl in a larger dish so as not to spill any juice and weight the pudding down with a flat plate that fits perfectly on top.
• Refrigerate overnight to allow the pudding to set.
• To serve, remove the pudding from the mould, slice and serve with double cream.