Summer Pudding
Ingredients
You will need:
• 1kg Mixed Berries - Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackcurrants, Blackberries etc...
• 160g Caster Sugar
• 10 thin slices of bread, no crusts
Place the berries, sugar and 60ml of water in a saucepan.
Bring to a gentle simmer on a low heat and cook, stirring to dissolve the sugar, for 3-4 minutes, or until the fruit has softened and produced lots of juice.
Set aside to cool.
Pour the juice into a flat dish, reserving the fruit.
Cut one slice of bread into a circle small enough to fit the base of a 1.5L pudding basin, and another large enough to fit the top.
Cut the remaining slices into triangles.
Dip both sides of the smaller circle of bread into the juice and place it in the bottom of the pudding basin.
Dip both sides of each triangle of bread into the juice, then line the inside of the basin with the juice-soaked bread, overlapping them slightly to make sure there are no gaps.
Fill the bread-lined basin with berries, drizzle with any remaining juice and top with the larger circle of bread, trimming it to fit if necessary.
Cover the top of the pudding with cling film, then place a saucer or small plate that just fits inside the rim of the basin on top.
Press the plate in, then weigh it down with a heavy can or two.
Place the basin in a shallow dish to catch any juice that might overflow, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
To serve, run a thin knife around the inside of the basin and invert the pudding on to a serving plate.
Serve accompanied with plenty of thick cream.
Top Tip from Sue... throw some chopped fresh basil into your mixed summer fruits to give it a more interesting taste!
Frozen Strawberry Yoghurt
Ingredients
• 400g Chopped Strawberries
• 85g Icing Sugar
• Juice of 1 Lime
• 150g Natural yoghurt
Purée the strawberries with the icing sugar and lime juice in a blender.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the yoghurt.
Taste and add a little extra sugar or lime juice if necessary - remember that the yoghurt will taste less sweet when frozen.
Pour the mixture into a shallow, lidded, plastic container and freeze for about 2 hours, or until it is frozen around the edges and starting to firm up in the middle.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
Return to the freezer and repeat the above steps when frozen.
Before serving, transfer to the fridge and allow to soften for 30 minutes.
Serve in bowls or cones.
Baked Raspberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
• 10 ginger biscuits
• 50g melted butter
• 500g cream cheese
• 2tbsp flour
• 175g caster sugar
• Vanilla extract
• 2 Eggs + 1 yolk
• 250ml Creme fraiche
• 300g raspberries
• Icing Sugar
Heat the oven to 180c/fan 160/gas 4.
Crush the biscuits in a food processor (or put in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin).
Mix with the butter.
Press into a 20cm spring form tin and bake for 5 minutes, then cool.
Beat the cream cheese with the flour, sugar, a few drops of vanilla, eggs, the yolk and creme fraiche until light and fluffy.
Stir in half the raspberries and pour into the tin.
Bake for 40 minutes and then check, it should be set but slightly wobbly in the centre.
Leave in the tin to cool, refrigerate.
Keep a few raspberries for the top and put the rest in a pan with 1 tbsp icing sugar.
Heat until juicy and then squash with a fork.
Push through a sieve.
Serve the cheesecake with raspberry sauce and raspberries.
