Mini Summer Puddings

These colourful desserts are simple to make and bursting with fruit. Using frozen fruit means you can enjoy these all year round.

Ingredients

500g bag frozen berries (defrosted)
6 strawberries
9–10 slices of white bread (1.5 for each pudding)
25g caster sugar
10g icing sugar for dusting (optional)

Equipment

Weighing scales
6 small plastic pots to hold approx. 125 – 175g mixture (yoghurt pots, ramekins or tea cups could be used)
Clingfilm
Medium saucepan
15ml measuring spoon
Chopping board
Knife
Sieve
Medium bowl
Small pastry cutter (same size as the base of the pot)
Large pastry cutter (approximately the same size as the top of the pot)
Serving plate

Instructions

1. Defrost the frozen berries in the bag at room temperature for approximately 2–4 hours.
2. Line the plastic pots with clingfilm letting it hang over the sides.
3. Open the bag of berries and pour the contents into the pan. Add the caster sugar and 5 x 15ml spoons of cold water.
4. Wash the strawberries, remove the stalks, slice finely and add to the pan (save 6 slices to decorate the puddings).
5. Gently heat the berries over a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the berries soften and start to bleed.
6. Drain the berries through a sieve into a medium bowl.
7. Trim the crusts off the bread and discard. Using the small and large pastry cutters, cut out 6 circles of each size (12 in total).
8. Take 6 more slices of bread, cut each in half and then each half into 3 strips.
9. Soak the 6 small circles of bread in the berry liquid in the medium bowl and place 1 piece in the bottom of each pot. Next, soak the strips of bread making sure there is no white showing and line the sides of the pot pressing the edges to make a seal and making sure they join up and slightly overlap.
10. On top of the soaked bread equally divide the berry mixture.
11. Soak the remaining 6 circles of bread and place on top of each fruit layer and press the edges to seal them.
12. Wrap the clingfilm round the top of the pots to cover the mixture.
13. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
14. Remove from fridge and carefully lift the puddings out with the cling-film turn them onto a serving plate and decorate with a slice of strawberry (discard the clingfilm). Dust with icing sugar (if using) and serve with low fat yoghurt or crème fraiche.

Top Tips

• Delicious served with low fat yoghurt or crème fraiche.
• Stale bread is excellent for this recipe – and great for reducing waste. Off-cuts of bread can be made into breadcrumbs and frozen.
• Add more water to the mixture if you need more for soaking the bread.

Something to try next time

• Experiment using different types of bread such as fruit breads or brioche.
• Use mango and pineapple to make yellow puddings (frozen or tinned). Soak the bread in the juice from tinned pineapple and / or freshly squeezed oranges.

Prepare now, eat later

• These desserts need to be chilled so make them ahead of time.