Hooked on cooking – need a pudding?

This is another recipe that is suitable for everyone to do their bit – it should appeal to your cheflets since it requires assembly and looks the biz when it's turned out.

This version I know I've mentioned before on the blog but it's worth repeating - it uses fresh fruits in season and, more to the point in my view, it uses Madeira cake and not the traditional bread for the pudding. For those out there who have been kind enough to follow the blog since the beginning, you'll know already of my aversion to dishes like rice pudding, sago and semolina – wet bread joins that list! In my defence I think assembling a pudding with cake is a lot more attractive than bread, plus the fact cake is less inclined to break.

Summer Pudding

Use fruits that are in season or alternatively frozen fruits work well too.

Ingredients

Frozen fruits/berries – 400g bag (14oz) or similar quantity of fresh fruit

1 tbsp sugar

1 tin or carton of fruit pie filling – blackcurrant or fruits of the forest

Madeira cake – I use an inexpensive shop bought cake (265g) – sliced lengthways into quarter inch slices and neatened. Here's where it's difficult to predict whether you'd need one cake or two – cake size varies depending which supermarket you use. I'd err on the side of caution and opt for two. For the size of basin stated, it takes approximately 10 slices of cake.

1 litre (1&¾pt) basin.

A plain sided cutter slightly larger than the base of the basin.

Cling film

Method

If using fresh fruit, bring it to the boil with the sugar in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Simmer for 5 minutes until the fruit releases its juices. Cool.

If using frozen fruit, defrost it and then add the sugar.

Line the basin with cling film ensuring that it overlaps the basin.

Cut out a circle of cake for the base and place it in the basin. Line the rest of the basin – I overlap each piece of cake – but it's whatever you'd prefer.

Add half the can of fruit pie filling to the cooled/defrosted fruit and then pour the mixture into the cake-lined bowl. Top with slices of cake to cover completely. Fold the cling film over the pudding to seal.

Place a slightly smaller plate or saucer on top of the basin and weigh down with a tin (the heaviest in your pantry/cupboard). Refrigerate for 12-24 hours.

To serve, remove the tin and plate, unseal the cling film, cover the bowl with a large plate. Invert the pudding onto the plate and remove the cling film.

With the remaining pie filling, warm it through, gently in a microwave. Pour over the top of the pudding to serve, adding cream, ice cream or custard.

Here's a photo of the finished pud :

This is great fun for the cheflets – weighing down the pudding with a tin of beans should bring a smile and the pleasure of turning out the pudding and surveying their efforts well worth it. Note to self – if you have cheflets who aren't that keen on fresh fruit they might even forget it's in the pudding, especially if they've helped make it and it's served with a scoop of home-made vanilla ice cream!