Food Safari's summer pudding

Ingredients

Blackcurrant coulis

• 250 ml (1 cup) water
• 250 g (1 cup) sugar
• 250 g blackcurrants (or mixed berries)
• 1 spring mint 

Pudding

• 1 day-old loaf of sliced white bread
• 200 g small strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 100 g blackberries or mulberries
• 100 g blueberries
• 100 g raspberries, to garnish

Chilling time 4 hours

Instructions

To make the syrup, boil the water and sugar together in a saucepan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and return 125 ml of the syrup to the pan and add the berries and mint (refrigerate the remaining syrup for another use). Cook until the fruit is soft. Discard the mint then puree the coulis in a food processor or rub through a sieve.

Cut the bread into circles (leaving the crusts behind) to fit inside 8 large ramekins – you will need 3 circles per ramekin. Dip the bread circles into the coulis and lay out on a tray. Set aside. 

Reheat the remaining coulis in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil over moderate heat. Add the strawberries, blackberries (or mulberries) and blueberries. Bring back to the boil then immediately remove from the heat. Drain off one-third of the coulis and reserve, and transfer the remaining fruit and coulis to a bowl to cool.

Place a soaked bread circle in the bottom of each ramekin followed by 1 tbsp of the fruit, another circle of bread and more fruit. Top with a final circle of bread and a small amount of coulis. Press down firmly. Chill and set in the refrigerator for 4 hours or more.

Run a knife around the inside of the ramekins and turn the puddings out onto serving plates. Garnish with the raspberries and drizzle with reserved coulis. Serve with luscious thick cream if desired.