"Dora" > wrote in message
...
>
> This is very good. It is best to use a bread with good texture - no
> Wonder bread here!
>
> Dora
>
>
> * Exported from MasterCook *
>
> Summer Pudding/Autumn Pudding
>
> 1 1/2 pounds prepared fruit (see directions)
> 5 tablespoons water
> 6 or 8 slices bread -- crusts removed
> 4 ounces sugar
> fresh fruit and mint sprigs, to decorate
>
> The fruit for Summer Pudding is typically a mixture of raspberries,
> strawberries, stoned cherries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, gooseberries,
> rhubarb, blueberries.
>
> For Autumn Pudding, use a mixture of fruits such as apples, blackberries,
> plums and pears.
>
> Gently stew the fruit in the water and sugar until soft but still
> retaining their shape.
>
> Meanwhile, cut a round from one slice of bread to neatly fit in the bottom
> of a 2-pint pudding basin (I use a round bowl) and cut 4-6 of the
> remaining slices into neat fingers. Arrange the fingers around the sides,
> overlapping them so there are no spaces.
>
> When the fruit is cooked and still hot, pour it gently into the basin,
> being careful not to disturb the bread pieces. Reserve about 3
> tablespoons of the juice. When the basin is full, cut the remaining bread
> and use to cover the fruit, to form a lid. Cover with foil, then a plate
> or saucer which fits just inside the bowl and put a weight on top. Leave
> the pudding until cold, then put into the refrigerator and chill
> overnight.
>
> To serve, carefully run a knife round the edge to loosen, then invert the
> pudding on to a serving dish. Pour the reserved juice over the top.
> Serve cold with cream. Decorate with fruit and mint sprigs.
>
> Description:
> "Dessert"
> Source:
> "Helen's Internet Book of British Cooking"
>
> NOTES : Make this a day ahead, so that it has time to steep in its own
> juices.

The success of Summer Pudding (not Autumn Pudding) depends on the brevity of
the cooking. It should be minimal, just enough to get the juices flowing
from the soft fruit without many of them breaking down. Overcooking results
in a jammy flavour. I have found that frozen fruit on thawing yields a lot
of juice so I use a mix of fresh and frozen raspberries, redcurrants and
blackcurrants and dissolve the sugar in the juice placing the uncooked fruit
directly into the bread-lined basin. The resulting flavour is intense.
Graham