11 Easy Summer Pudding Ideas

English Cherry Pavlova: Adam Byatt, Trinity

INGREDIENTS

• 600g of fresh English cherries 

• 300g of icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

• 8g of leaf gelatine 

• 6 egg whites 

• 200ml of double cream

METHOD

1. Remove the stones from 500g of the cherries, reserving 100g whole cherries for the decoration at the end.

2. Line a deep 30cm x 20cm baking tray with parchment paper.

3. Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3.

4. Place the pitted cherries in a baking tray, sprinkle over half of the icing sugar and bake for 40 minutes until the cherries are soft. Remove from the oven and strain the juice from the cherries into a bowl. 

5. Turn the oven up to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7.

6. Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water until they are soft, about 10 minutes. Lift out and squeeze the leaves, then add them to the warm cherry juice and stir until dissolved. Refrigerate until set. 

7. Tip the baked cherries into a blender and blend to a smooth purée. Transfer to a bowl and chill in the fridge until serving time.

8. Put the egg whites into a bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until thickened. Add the remaining icing sugar and continue whisking to a meringue that is firm enough to hold a ribbon trail when the mixer is lifted. 

9. Using a palette knife or spatula, spread the meringue evenly over the lined tray to a thickness of about 3cm, keeping it textured on top. Place the tray in the oven, close the door, and immediately turn the oven off. Leave the meringue in the oven for 6-8 hours (this is best done last thing at night so that it is ready when you wake up). 

10. To serve, lightly whisk the cream. Spoon the crisp but chewy meringue on to individual plates and layer with the cream, cherry jelly and cherry purée. Decorate with the reserved whole cherries and dust with icing sugar.

Visit TrinityRestaurant.co.uk

Ice-Cream Profiteroles: The Proof Puddings

INGREDIENTS

For the choux pastry: 

• 100g of unsalted butter

• 125ml of cold water

• 125ml of whole milk

• 150g of sifted plain flour

• 1 tsp of caster sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 4 large eggs

For the chocolate sauce:

• 25g of unsalted butter

• 125ml of double cream

• 90g of caster sugar

• ½ tsp of vanilla extract

• 50g of cocoa powder

• 25g of chopped dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)

• Ice-cream – we use Hackney Gelato Madagascan Vanilla

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.

2. Into a heavy based saucepan pour your milk, water, butter, sugar and salt and bring to a boil over a medium heat.  Add in the flour and stir for 3-5 minutes until the mixture starts coming away from the sides of the pan. 

3. Take the pan off the heat and leave the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.

4. After 10 minutes put the cooled mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer (you can also use an electric hand whisk) and slowly add the pre-whisked eggs a bit at a time, ensuring they are combined before adding more. You are aiming for a glossy, smooth thick mixture once the eggs are added. 

5. Once your choux pastry is ready to cook put your pastry mixture into a piping bag with a tip of around 2-3cm cut off the end. Pipe tall blobs of your choux mixture onto a lined baking tray and bake in your pre-heated oven for 20-22 minutes until golden brown and firm. When they are cooked place onto a cooling rack and pierce each one to release the steam and prevent them from collapsing.

6. While your choux cools make your dark chocolate sauce. Simply add the cream, sugar, vanilla and butter into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Whisk in the cocoa powder until the mixture is shiny and combined. Finally take off the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until it has all melted and combined. 

7. To construct your profiteroles just break open each ball, load up with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, and generously pour over your chocolate sauce.

Follow @TheProofPuddings

Mango & White Chocolate Mousse: Rosie Birkett

INGREDIENTS

• 100g of Greek yoghurt, strained over a sieve 

• 180g of Montezuma’s white chocolate

• 150g of double cream

• 1 sachet of veggie gelling agent (I use Dr Oetke Vege-Gel) 

• 200g of ripe mango, diced

• 1 tsp of golden caster sugar 

• Juice and zest of 1 lime

To serve:

• 2 tbsp of toasted coconut 

• Half a ripe mango, diced

METHOD

1. Puree 200g of mango with the sugar. Whip the cream until it’s thick and fluffy – slightly more whipped than soft peaks, so it holds its shape but doesn’t break up. Lightly fold through the strained yoghurt. 

2. Set up a bain marie with a couple of inches of water in a pan over a medium heat. Break your chocolate into a metal or glass bowl and combine with the mango puree. Place it over the pan so that the bottom isn’t touching the water, then melt the chocolate into the mango, stirring with a whisk until you have a smooth curd. Whisk in the lime zest, half the lime juice and the vegetarian setting powder. Leave to one side for a moment to cool. 

3. Once slightly cooler (so as to not melt the whipped cream), pour a third of the cream and yoghurt and fold in, then repeat with the remaining two thirds. Pour into pretty glasses and set in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight. 

4. When you’re ready to serve, toss some diced mango with the remaining lime juice and pile it on top of the mousses with some flakes of toasted coconut. Grate over lime zest to finish.

Visit Montezumas.co.uk

Salted Honey & Apple Tart: Alex Head, Social Pantry

INGREDIENTS

• 250g of plain flour

• 110g of cubed cold butter

• 4-6 tbsp of cold water

• 125g of melted butter

• 125g of caster sugar 

• 28g of fine semolina 

• 340g of honey 

• 5 medium eggs 

• 175g of double cream 

• 1 tsp of vanilla extract or 1 pod 

• 2 tsp of Maldon sea salt flakes

• 2 small eating apples

• 2 tbsp of brown sugar

• 25g green pistachios, lightly roasted and crushed

METHOD

To make the pastry: 

1. Using a food processor, blend the cold butter with the plain flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. 

2. Add the water and bring the dough together quite quickly. Try not to over mix or knead the dough. 

3. Wrap in cling film, beeswax wraps or place in an airtight container and allow to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge. 

4. Lightly grease and flour the dish and set aside, lightly flour the surface and roll out the cold pastry large enough to fit the dish or till it is about 3mm thick evenly all over. 

5. Line the tart case, trim the edges, fill with baking paper and baking beans and blind bake at 160°C fan for 25-30 minutes or until evenly cooked and lightly golden. Remove the baking beans and bake for another 5 minutes to finish off if needed. 

6. Allow to cool, turn the oven down to 150°C fan and prepare the honey filling.

For the filling: 

1. In a standing mixer with the whisk attached, combine the melted butter, sugar, flour and semolina. 

2. Whisk together until thickened.

3. Add the honey and vanilla and whisk again for 2 minutes. 

4. Add the eggs and whisk again.

5. Turn the mixer down to the slowest speed, add the cream slowly, until it is just combined. 

6. Pour the pie filling into the pastry case and bake on 150°C fan for 40-50 minutes, or until the filling is wobbly but set. 

7. As soon as the pie comes out the oven, sprinkle with the Maldon sea salt flakes and allow to cool naturally. 

8. Meanwhile, remove the core from the apples and slice thinly, toss in a bowl with 1 tbsp brown sugar. Lay out on a tray and roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes until tender but firm, turn throughout cooking.

9. When ready to serve either top the tart with apple slices and sprinkle with the pistachio or slice per portion and serve alongside.

Visit SocialPantry.co.uk

Gooseberry & Elderflower Crumble: Rupert Willday, Charlie Bigham’s 

 INGREDIENTS

For the filling: 

• 500g of gooseberries (topped and tailed) 

• 80g of granulated sugar 

• 2 tsp of cornflour 

• 1 tbsp of elderflower cordial 

For the crumble mix: 

• 200g of plain flour 

• 90g of salted butter 

• 80g of demerara sugar 

• 30g of rolled oats 

• 20g of nibbed almonds 

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 4) .

2. Mix together the gooseberries, elderflower cordial, sugar and cornflour. Place in an even layer about 3cm deep in an ovenproof dish. 

3. To make the crumble, rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the rolled oats, sugar and almonds.

4. Sprinkle the crumble mix evenly over the fruit and place in the centre of the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until golden brown on top.

5. Leave to stand for five minutes and serve with a sweet vanilla ice-cream.  

Visit Bighams.com

Grilled Nectarines With Orange Blossom, Ginger Yogurt And Almonds: Riverford

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lemon

• 100g of unrefined caster sugar

• 70ml of cold water

• 2 tsp of orange blossom water, or to taste

• 4 nectarines

• Vegetable or sunflower oil

• 300g of ginger yoghurt

• 60g of flaked and toasted almonds

METHOD

1. Use a peeler to pull 2 thin strips of zest from the lemon. Place them in a small saucepan with the sugar and the water. Add 2 tbsp of lemon juice. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 1 minute, turn off the heat and leave to cool. When it has cooled, add the orange blossom water; start with 1 teaspoon and add the rest to your taste. You can make this well in advance. 

2. Halve and stone the nectarines and lightly brush with some plain oil. Place them on the BBQ and griddle them, face-side down, over a medium heat until nicely marked. This should take about 3-4 minutes; resist the temptation to play with them too much or they'll tend to stick or tear. Flip them and cook for a further 3-4 minutes or so until softened – the skins will wrinkle and pull away from the flesh when they are ready. 

3. Divide the warm nectarines between 4 bowls. Spoon over a little of the syrup. Top with a blob of yogurt and a scattering of almonds. 

Visit Riverford.co.uk  

Barbecued Peaches With Amaretto Mascarpone: Abel & Cole

INGREDIENTS

For the peaches:

• 50g of demerara sugar

• 2 tbsp of amaretto liqueur

• Juice of ½ a lemon

• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon

• 8 ripe peaches

• A little oil, for greasing

For the amaretto mascarpone:

• 250g of mascarpone

• 15g of icing sugar

• 2 tbsp of amaretto

• 2 digestive biscuits

METHOD

1. Stir the demerara sugar, amaretto, lemon juice and cinnamon together.

2. Halve the peaches. Twist them and gently pull apart. Scoop out the stones. Lay the peaches in a dish and spoon the amaretto marinade over them. Leave them to marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to a few hours.

3. While the peaches marinate, make the amaretto mascarpone. Beat the mascarpone, icing sugar and amaretto together with a wooden spoon. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Crumble the digestive biscuits into a large bowl. Use a pestle or the end of a rolling pin to crush them into fine crumbs. Set aside.

4. Light your barbecue. It will take around 45 minutes to get hot enough to cook on. When the coals are glowing white, it’s ready. Brush the grill with a little neutral tasting oil, like sunflower oil. Tip the marinade out of the peaches, then place them on the grill, cut side down. Barbecue for about 5 minutes, till they have char lines. Gently turn them over and barbecue for 5 more minutes till tender.

5. Serve the peaches hot off the BBQ with spoonfuls of the amaretto mascarpone, sprinkled with the biscuit crumbs and drizzled with the remaining amaretto marinade.

Visit AbelAndCole.co.uk

Pomegranate Jelly: Jane Clarke, Nourish

INGREDIENTS

• Seeds from 2-3 large pomegranates (or 600ml of pomegranate juice)

• 75g of golden caster sugar

• 3 x 2g leaves of gelatine (or 3 tsp of agar flakes for vegetarians)

METHOD

1. Place the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water and allow to soften for several minutes.

2. Pulse the pomegranate seeds in a blender or food processor for a few seconds 2 or 3 times to release their juice. Don’t blend them for long as this will cause the seeds to completely disintegrate, producing a cloudy juice.

3. Pour the juice through a wire mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Use a ladle or the back of a wooden spoon to firmly push against the pulp and extract any remaining juice.

4. Place 150ml of the pomegranate juice and the sugar into a saucepan. Place over a low heat to dissolve the sugar, ensuring it doesn’t boil.

5. When the sugar has completely dissolved and the juice is warm, remove from the heat. 

6. Remove the gelatine from the water and use your hands to squeeze out any excess water. 

7. Add to the warm juice and sugar mixture and stir until it is completely dissolved. Add the remaining juice and mix well.

8. At this point, test the texture of the jelly. Spoon a small tablespoon of the mixture into a ramekin or cup and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, keep the saucepan covered and whisk the jelly mixture occasionally.

9. If the chilled jelly feels too firm, add a small amount of juice or water to the mixture and stir. As little as a tablespoon may be sufficient, then repeat the test until you are happy with the texture.

10. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl.

11. Distribute the mixture between jelly moulds, glasses or espresso cups.

12. Place in the refrigerator and allow to set for minimum of 4 hours or overnight.

13. To unmould, briefly place each container in very hot water and then turn them out onto serving plates.

Visit NourishByJaneClarke.com

Pistachio Ice-Cream: Justine Murphy, MyMuyBueno

INGREDIENTS

• 240g of pistachios

• 400ml of tinned coconut milk, refrigerated overnight 

• 340ml of almond milk 

• 100g of medjool dates, pitted

• 4 tbsp of maple syrup

• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

METHOD

1. Place the pistachios into your food processor and grind them into a flour, then put them into a blender. 

2. Do not shake the tin of coconut milk, just remove it from the fridge, open and gently scoop the thick coconut cream off the top. Discard the clear liquid. Place the coconut cream into your blender along with the almond milk, dates, syrup and vanilla.

3. Blend the mixture until completely smooth, then taste it and add more vanilla or syrup if needed. 

4. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and leave to churn until ready. If you don’t have an ice cream machine, you can skip this step and still achieve a good result. 

5. Pour into a large container and freeze. 

6. Leave the pistachio nice cream to thaw for 10 minutes before serving so it has a creamy texture.

Visit MyMuyBuenoPrivateChefs.com

Fig & Maple Frangipane Tart: Maple From Canada

INGREDIENTS

• 130g of unsalted butter, softened

• 160g of maple sugar

• 1 tbsp of finely grated lemon zest

• 1 tbsp of finely grated orange zest

• 3 medium eggs

• 1 tsp of vanilla essence

• 180g of ground almonds

• 80g of flaked almonds

• 75g of plain flour, sieved

• 2 tbsp of pure maple syrup, plus an extra 2 tbsp for glazing (preferably amber syrup for its rich taste)

• ½ tsp of baking powder

• 4 figs, quartered

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Lightly grease a round 28cm, fluted loose-bottomed tart tin

2. Beat the butter, maple sugar, lemon zest and orange zest in a bowl until smooth and light

3. Gradually whisk in the eggs and vanilla essence followed by ground and flaked almonds, sieved flour, maple syrup and baking powder. Pour into the tart tin and smooth over

4. Arrange figs and press down into place onto the almond filling. Place tart tin onto a baking tray and transfer to oven

5. Bake for 45 minutes until slightly risen and golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush figs with extra maple syrup while still hot.

British Summer Fruit Trifle: Maple With Canada

INGREDIENTS

• 12 trifle sponge fingers

• 200g of fresh strawberries, washed, destalked and quartered

• 2 sachets of strawberry flavour jelly crystals, plus 285ml of hot water

• 3 tbsp of pure maple syrup (preferably dark syrup for its robust taste)

• 300ml of ready-made custard

• 125ml of whipping cream

• 125g of fresh blueberries

• 125g of fresh raspberries

• 100g of fresh blackberries

METHOD

1. Break the sponge fingers into pieces and place in the base of the trifle dish. Scatter with a handful of strawberries.

2. Dissolve one sachet of jelly crystals in 285ml of boiling water and add the maple syrup.

3. Pour over the sponge fingers and strawberries and leave to set overnight in the fridge.

4. Spread a layer of cold custard over the set jelly and strawberries and top with raspberries and blueberries and set aside – leave enough for topping.

5. Repeat the process for a second layer of jelly and fruit.

6. In a separate bowl, whip the cream to form stiff peaks and generously spread a thick layer on top of the fruit.

7. Decorate with the remaining strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries and chill to set before serving.

Visit MapleFromCanada.co.uk