Summer Pudding

Yet another day of dodging the torrential rain showers. Yesterday after going to the PYO farm and trying to convince myself that yes it is summer (not that the weather wants to make us believe that) I decided to try my hand at Summer Pudding.

The smell of the fruits simmering was glorious. You can't beat summer fruits. Tonight was the tasting and it was delicious. The tartness of the blackcurrants was matched perfectly with the sweetness of the crème de framboise all finished off with a spoonful of extra thick cream from the local dairy.

Incidently, to find your nearest PYO farm pop along to this great website. www.pickyourown.org
I've entered this recipe to Cook Sister's - WTSIM Blog Event

Individual Summer Puddings
Makes 2

250g summer fruits (I used raspberries, blackcurrants and strawberries)
50g vanilla sugar
4 slices of white bread, minus the crusts
2 tbsp crème de framboise

1) In a saucepan gently simmer the fruit and sugar for 3 min. Don't over simmer or the fruit will fall apart. You should have the fruit floating in a nice syrup. Allow to cool. Stir in crème de framboise.

2) Line 2 individual pudding basins with cling film. Cut 2 circles of bread just bigger than the base of the pudding basin and 2 circles the size of the top of the pudding basins.

3) Dunk the smaller bread circles into the syrup. Allow the bread to absorb the syrup then place 1 at the bottom of each pudding basin. Share the fruit out between the two basins.

4) Place the larger circle on top of the fruit then drizzle with the remaining syrup, ensuring all the bread is covered. Fold over the remaining cling film and weigh down with a weight (I used weights from my scales). Chill overnight.

5) Turn out onto a plate and drizzle with a small amount of crème de framboise.

Strawberries & White Chocolate - 2 ways

For the last few weeks I've been driving the people around me mad with my excitement over the impending Strawberry season. There is a fantastic PYO strawberry farm a short skip and jump from the house and I've been waiting with baited breath for it to open. I was determined not to buy supermarket strawberries as they don't taste anywhere near as good as the PYO ones. Friday was S-Day (Strawberry Day). Strawberries are only just coming into season here and only early varieties were available but they were still just as luscious. They are a bargain, we ended up getting 1.25kg of strawberries for just over £2. I can't wait until their raspberries are ready. At this rate I'll be coming out in Strawberry Rash in the next few days.

With In The Bag this month being Strawberries & White Chocolate and today being Midsummer's Day (though you'd never believe it with the horrible weather) I decided to celebrate with Strawberry & White Chocolate Mousse plus White Chocolate dipped strawberries. The mousse was as result of me experimenting, but it worked really well. The freshness of the strawberries helped cut through the sweet creaminess of the mousse.



Strawberry & White Chocolate Mousse
Serves 2-4

100g double cream
100g white chocolate
100g creme fraiche
punnet of strawberries, hulled

1) In a food processor blitz all of the strawberries until you have a chunky puree.

2) In a bain marie gently melt white chocolate. White chocolate is melting whisk together double cream and creme fraiche for about a minute until it begins to thicken. Fold in melted chocolate until combined.

3) Layer the strawberry puree and white chocolate mousse in a glass. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.