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Summer Pudding
I confess: This is my favorite dessert. Once
you make it, it will be yours, too. It's
simple to make and even easier to eat, but
it must be made a day before serving to allow
enough time for the bread to soak up all
the luscious berry juices.
| Categories: |
Desserts>Pastries |
| Yield: |
8 Servings |
3 pint baskets raspberries (about 6 cups)
3 pint baskets blackberries (about
6 cups)
1 pint basket red currants, stems removed
1 cup sugar
optional: 2 teaspoons kirsch
1 loaf firm-textured white bread (1
pound),
such as pain de mie
1. In a nonreactive saucepan, warm
the berries,
red currants, and sugar. Cook until
the berries
break down and release their juices.
Remove
from heat and stir in the kirsch.
2. Remove the crusts from the bread.
If the
loaf is unsliced, cut it into 1/2-inch
slices.
3. Line a 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish
or bowl
with plastic wrap. Line the sides and
bottom
with bread, making a layer one slice
thick.
Trim the bread slices to fit snugly,
as necessary.
4. Pour half of the berries into the
bread-lined
pan, and spread them over the bottom
layer
of bread to cover the entire surface.
5. Make another layer of bread slices
over
the berries, once again trimming as
necessary
to make a single layer one slice thick.
6. Add the remaining berries and cover
with
a final layer of bread.
7. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on
top,
cover with a plate with a slightly
smaller
diameter than the dish, and place a
moderately
heavy object (such as a large can of
tomatoes
or olive oil) on the plate to weigh
the pudding
down. If using a baking dish, I add
some
extra berry sauce on top before covering
since it won't be inverted, the top
usually
needs a bit more sauce for soaking.
8. Refrigerate overnight. The next
day, remove
the plastic wrap on top, invert the
pudding
onto a plate, and lift off the dish.
Remove
the rest of the plastic, slice the
pudding,
and serve with whipped cream.
| Chef's Tips: |
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The red currants add an unmistakable tart
flavor, but they're not always easy to find;
if necessary use a spoonful of red currant
jelly or other berries in their place.
If you want to make it easier
to make, just
assemble the pudding in a similar
size baking
dish with tall sides (without
lining it with
plastic). To serve, cut into
squares and
serve with additional berry sauce
to moisten
any bread that didn't get soaked |
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© 1999 David Lebovitz
'Room for Dessert' Photography Courtesy of Michael Lamotte Studio, San Francisco
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