Summer Pudding with Crème de Cassis

This is one of my favourite puddings and really it has no cooking involved. The fruits only need to be warmed with the sugar in a saucepan for them to mingle together, creating delicious juices to stain the bread beautiful claret red. This pudding could be served with clotted cream, ice cream, crème fraiche which would equally be gorgeous.

Summer Pudding with Crème de Cassis

Serves 4 –6

Ingredients
500g (1 lb 2 oz) mixed summer fruits, i.e. strawberries, raspberries, and redcurrants
125g (8 oz) caster sugar
Slices of day old bread, crusts removed
3 tbsp crème de Cassis

Method

You will need an 850 ml (1½ pint) pudding basin.

Put the fruit and sugar into a saucepan and gently heat on the stove until the sugar has melted and the fruits begin to bleed their juices. Stir the crème de Cassis gently into the fruits, leave the fruits in the saucepan to one side to cool a little.

Take slices of bread and cut into triangles and fit into the pudding basin leaving no gaps. Use a slotted spoon to add all the fruit into the lined basin and top up with some of the juices, (leaving a little to paint the outside if there are any white gaps showing the next day). Make a lid with the remaining bread making sure all the fruit is covered.

Place a tight fitting plate or saucer over the top and weigh it down with a weight or heavy object and leave in the fridge overnight to set.

Next day, take a large plate and place the pudding on and turn it out. If any white gaps of bread are showing paint over them with the remaining left over juice.