Yvonne's Wimbledon summer pudding

Yvonne's Wimbledon summer pudding. A dome of sweet juice-soaked bread, sliced open and revealing the red and blue berries inside. Garnished with purple, orange and yellow flowers on top, with juicy red strawberries and green twirls of cucumber and fresh mint around the side. All sitting on a white ceramic plate.

On Tuesday 7th July, Yvonne Cobb joined us in the studio to serve up a Wimbledon-inspired summer pudding, complete with strawberries, cream and gin-based liqueur.

Ingredients

  • 11 slices of thick white bread, crusts removed

  • 300g golden caster sugar

  • 150ml gin-based liqueur (alternatively, use diluted cordial)

  • 150ml ginger beer

  • 20ml blackcurrant cordial

  • ½ packet blackcurrant jelly, dissolved in hot water

  • 750g strawberries, hulled and chopped

  • 250g blueberries

  • 1 cucumber, peeled, de-seeded and finely chopped

  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract

  • ½ bunch fresh mint, chopped

  • A few fresh basil leaves, chopped

  • A little olive oil (to lightly grease the pudding bowl)

  • Clotted cream, to serve

  • Dairy-free clotted cream alternative (optional)

Method

  1. Lightly grease a 2-litre pudding bowl with a little olive oil using kitchen paper.

  2. Remove the crusts from the bread and set aside.

  3. Place 200g of the golden caster sugar into a large frying pan over a medium heat and allow it to melt into a golden caramel.

  4. Carefully pour in the liqueur and ginger beer, then stir until smooth. Add the vanilla extract.

  5. Stir together the blackcurrant cordial, dissolved blackcurrant jelly and hot water in a jug until smooth. This helps deepen the colour and gives the pudding a firmer set.

  6. In a large bowl, toss together the chopped strawberries, blueberries and cucumber with the remaining 100g of golden caster sugar. Stir through the chopped mint and basil before adding everything to the syrup.

  7. Cook gently for a few minutes until the fruit has softened slightly but still holds its shape.

  8. Dip one side of each slice of bread into the fruit syrup and use the slices to line the greased pudding bowl, syrup-side against the bowl, slightly overlapping each piece.

  9. Spoon the fruit mixture then pour the jelly mixture into the centre, then dip the remaining bread into the syrup and use it to cover the top.

  10. Place a plate on top of the pudding and weigh it down with something heavy. Chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours, or preferably overnight.

  11. Carefully turn the pudding out onto a serving plate.

  12. Reduce any remaining syrup until slightly thickened, then spoon it over the pudding.

  13. Serve with clotted cream (or a dairy-free alternative) and garnish with fresh mint.