I first made summer pudding with white bread that had begun to grow stale but my family didn’t particularly like it. We had holidays in France where my children loved brioche loaves and so I used it for this pudding.Rather than use a pudding basin I use a 2lb loaf tin.

•  Preparation time:
  15 minutes plus chilling
• Cooking time:
  5 minutes
  4 hours or overnight chilling

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
500g strawberries, halved or quartered if large
200g blackberries
200g raspberries
200g blueberries
1 tbsp crème de cassis
1 tbsp straberry liquer
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp chopped mint
10 -12 slices sliced brioche loaf


Method

1. Place all the fruits and cassis and strawberry liquer and cinnamon stick in a large saucepan and cook covered for 5-6 minutes, until softened but still holding their shape.
2. Drain over a large bowl, remove the cinnamon stick reserving the juice and allow to cool slightly. Stir the mint into the fruit.

3. Dip the brioche slices into the juice and use all but 2 slices to line the base and sides of a 1kg loaf tin. Fill with the fruit and place the remaining 2 slices on top, folding over any edges. Cover with clingfilm and place another smaller loaf tin on the pudding with some weights in the tin or a food
4.  Put the pudding  in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
5. Turn the pudding out of the tin and serve sliced with any remaining juice, fresh cream or crème fraîche.


Winter Pudding
Here is a twist on the summer pudding, it is a mixture preserved fruits, bottled and dried.It is absolutely delicious and makes a perfect replacement for a traditional Christmas pudding. I use my homemade Quick and easy mincemeat which I use for the frangipani tart from my recipe book and that has also appeared in Sherborne Times.Both these puddings freeze well, but you will need to open freeze them and then double-wrap in greaseproof paper and then cling film. When you wish to ear them remove from the wrappings and place on a serving dish allowing to defrost in the fridge overnight. Leave out of the fridge for 2 hours to allow their


What you will need is a 2lb loaf tin or a 3pint bowl, a second loaf tin that is the same size and 1 or 2 bean tins to use as weights, also a sheet of greaseproof paper.


Preparation time:
15 minutes plus chilling

•     Cooking time:
  3 minutes
  4 hours or overnight chilling

Serves: 4-6
​

Ingredients

1 jar of berries in Prosecco
1lb jar of bought or homemade mincemeat
2 tablespoons orange liqueur 
1 cinnamon stick
1 medium sizes panatone, sliced vertically


Method
1.Place the bottled fruits, jar of mincemeat and cinnamon stick in a large saucepan and warm through so the fruits  still hold their shape and the fats in the mincemeat have melted.
2.  Drain over a large bowl, remove the cinnamon stick reserving the juice and allow to cool slightly. Stir the orange liqueur  into the fruit juice
3. Dip the slices into the juice and use all but 2 slices to line the base and sides of a 2lb loaf tin. Fill with the fruit and place the remaining 2 slices on top, folding over any edges. Cover with greaseproof paper and place another smaller loaf tin on the pudding with some weights in the tin.
4.  Put the pudding in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
5. Turn the pudding out of the tin and serve sliced with any remaining juice, fresh cream or crème fraîche.