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This delicious summer berry pudding uses stale bread and an abundance of berries. It’s a refreshing dessert that requires no baking.
If you are looking for recipes to use up stale bread, this summer berry pudding is a great one to start! It’s easy to make but it looks more sophisticated than it seems. It’s a pretty healthy dessert and requires minimal effort.
What is this summer berry pudding?
Summer pudding is a classic British dessert that uses abundant berries during the summer season and stale bread slices to line up a deep bowl (or Charlotte mold). The bowl is filled with berries and then topped with more bread slices. The bread is then drenched in the berry juice, wrapped, weighted with a heavy object, and chilled in the fridge overnight to set. The pudding is then inverted into a serving platter before serving.
Easy Summer Berry Pudding
Ingredients
- 453 g strawberries
- 142 g blackberries
- 283 g raspberries
- 100 g sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt
- Zest from 2 oranges
- 120 g water
- 500 g stale bread such as brioche, challah, shokupan, or other enriched bread
Instructions
Prepare the bowl:
- You will need a deep glass bowl, about 1 litre capacity (4-5 cups capacity). Lightly grease the bowl with some non-stick cooking spray. Line the bowl with two long pieces of cling wrap crossed in the center and let the excess hang over the sides
- You won't need all the bread, but it's good to have some extra in case you need them
- Trim off the crust from the bread. Make sure the bread is about 1/3-1/2 inch in thickness. Thin slices of bread will not hold the filling well and the pudding will fall apart
- Line the bottom of the bowl with a whole piece of bread. Then cut some odd shape pieces to fill in any gaps.
- Arrange a few slices of bread to cover the sides of the bowl, cut into size if it's too big.
- Cut some slices of bread into odd shapes to fill in any gaps. Make sure the bottom and the sides of the bowl are all covered with bread.
Prepare the berries:
- Rinse all the berries clean with water and remove excess water. Hull the strawberries. Cut large berries in halves
- Put the berries, water,salt, sugar, and orange zest in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir frequently. Cook over medium-lowe heat until they are barely tender and some still somewhat retain their shapes, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly
Assembling:
- Scoop some of the berry juice from cooking the berries earlier into bottom of the bowl.
- Spoon some of the berry juice over the edges of the bread. It is important that you try to get into the edge of the bowl too. It can be messy but make sure you cover the edge too so they will be soaked in juice as well
- Fill up with the berries, leaving the juice out
- Cover the top with more bread slices. Cut some odd shapes to fill up any gaps.
- Spoon the rest of the juice over the top of the bread and the sides to make sure every piece of bread is soaked in the juice
- Pull the overhanged cling wrap over the bread to tightly cover it
- Set a large plate on top of the bread and then put something heavy on top, such as big tub of yogurt or cottage cheese, to weigh it down to create more pressure so things will pack down nicely. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 2 days
Unmolding:
- Remove the weight you placed on top of the plate. Remove the plate too. Gently peel the cling wrap away from the bread.
- Place a large serving plate on top of the pudding.
- Then quickly invert the pudding onto the plate. Some juice may leak out and a bit messy, it's okay! It is expected
- Gently remove the plastic wrap from the pudding. Use an absorbent paper towel to wipe off any drips on the plate. You can keep this unmolded pudding in the fridge for up to 1 hour before you serve. Any longer, the pudding may not hold its shape and may fall apart
To serve:
- Use a serrated knife to cut into wedges. Some slice may crumble a bit, it's totally fine. Top with some more berries and/or with some whipped cream or scoop of ice cream.
Can I change up the fruits?
You can use different varieties of berries and also include some pitted cherries instead of what I listed in the recipe card, just make sure to keep the quantity the same
What kind of bread to use?
Stale white bread such as challah, brioche, shokupan, or any white bread would work. If you use soft whole wheat bread, it works too, but the brown color cover the vibrant colors of the berries.It’s not a big deal, but just keep that in mind
Tips for success
1. Avoid cutting the bread slice too thin. It needs to be at least 1/3-1/2 inch thick to support the filling so the pudding won’t fall apart
2. Make sure you cover any gaps in the bowl with bread slices
3. Don’t overcook the berries. They should be barely soft and still maintain the shapes
4. Chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours up to 2 days before unmolding the pudding
Did you make this easy summer berry pudding recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag it to show me what you’ve made. Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
