This gluten free summer pudding was a bit of a last minute creation, it’s an idea I’ve had in my mind for ages (especially the boozy bit!) but this weekend the family was invited to my brother-in-law’s for dinner and I said I’d provide my own pudding. I knew treacle sponge and custard was going to be on the cards as this is my sister-in-law’s all-time favourite (is it me or are there a lot of hyphens in this paragraph?) I also knew the children were going to have a luxury ice cream of some description. I decided that I WANTED a fancy pudding too.
‘No time like the present’ I thought and tah-dah, my Boozy Gluten Free Summer Pudding was born.
I already had a crop of blackberries that Bethany and Lewis had foraged from down the street, and I ALWAYS have cherries in the house, I adore cherries. The other half of the blackberries had gone into my Blackberry Crumble Fool but the remaining ones were going to be perfect for the job.
I have a cherry stone pitter thingy that pops the stones out of each cherry with relative ease, so I’d really recommend getting one if you don’t have one already, getting stones out of cherries with a knife takes time and patience, the first I have very little and the latter I have none (unless it’s my children I need to be patience with, in which case I’m a bloody saint!).
I added booze because a) I wanted the pudding to be extra special and b) even bloody saints need a tipple now and again!
The recipe uses four little pudding moulds for a more authentic shape but to be fair these puddings are robust and could cope with being made in ramekin dishes or even small glass tumblers. As long as you oil the vessel well before adding the bread outer layer you’ll be fine.
Before we get to the recipe I’d love to draw your attention to these other bloggers and their summer inspired recipes and summer time top tips. That’s right, the Free From Gang (that’s #FreeFromGang) are at it again and this time we’re collaborating on a #FreeFromSummer;
One last note, of course you can use any combination of summer fruits; redcurrants, blackcurrants, raspberries even strawberries. Just remember the resulting colour will vary depending on the fruits you choose. I was thrilled with the fact that on this occasion these gluten free summer puddings came out with mottled colouring almost like a purple animal print; quite funky really (my kids would moan If they read this, ‘FUNKY! Really mum’).
A straight forward, no fuss Summers Pudding dessert using up seasonal red fruits and berries. Simple to make free from and for that extra kick add a slug of booze, because why not!
- 11-12 slices gluten free bread trim off the crusts
- 150 g pitted cherries
- 150 g blackberries
- 2 tbsp sherry brandy, kirsch or another spirit will work
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- spray oil to grease containers
Using a circle cutter, cut out 4 circles of bread to fit the bottom of the container and set aside.
Using a circle cutter, cut out 4 circles a fraction smaller than the top of the container and set aside.
Continue to cut the remaining bread into two rectangles (I cut top to bottom to create two long sided rectangles) You'll need 8 rectangles in total.
(How are your building skills) Don't throw away the trimmings just yet, you may need them for patching.
In a saucepan, or jug if microwaving, add the fruit, sugar and booze. Heat until fruit has softened. No need to boil.
Strain the fruit into a large enough bowl to dip your bread.
Oil the pudding containers and soak your circles in the fruit juices until all the bread has turned colour. Pop a circle into each container.
Repeat soaking with your bread rectangles and line each pudding container. If you're lucky (like me) two rectangles will do the job and there's no need to patch.