Sweet treats

Italian summer pudding

Print Recipe

Whenever summer is upon us, it’s time to make the most of the juicy fruits of the season – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries. These berries are all bursting with skin-boosting vitamin C and healthy antioxidants, notably the polyphenols and anthocyanins found in their purpley outer-skins.

This Italian summer pudding recipe is super-indulgent, totally delicious and the perfect way to impress at an alfresco summer party or picnic. Full of the flavours of the season – it’s a real all-age favourite. Enjoy!

Ingredients

    For the sauce

    • 100g strawberries
    • 100g raspberries
    • 50ml grappa

    For the pudding

    • 750g strawberries, hulled and quatered
    • 250g raspberries
    • 2 tbsps Amaretto
    • 100g icing sugar
    • Approx. 6 large slices of white bread, crusts removed
    • 100ml double cream
    • 200g mascarpone
    • Few drops vanilla essence
    • 100g crushed Amaretti biscuits
    • Extra berries to decorate

    Method

    1. Begin by making the sauce. Simply blend the sauce ingredients together until smooth, push through a sieve with a spatula, then pour into a bowl.
    2. To make the pudding, mix the strawberries and raspberries with the Amaretto and 50g of the icing sugar. Leave to macerate for at least 30 minutes.
    3. Next line a pudding bowl with cling film. Dip the bread in the sauce and use it to line the bowl, saving some for the lid.
    4. Whisk together the cream with the mascarpone, vanilla and remaining 50g icing sugar until stiff. Fold through the crushed amaretti biscuits.
    5. Drain the macerated berries, reserving their juices. Layer the berries and the mascarpone mix in alternate layers in the bread-lined bowl. Start and finish with a layer of berries. Cover with the soaked bread lid and drizzle over the reserved macerating juices and any remaining sauce.
    6. Cover with cling film, then place a plate or saucer on the pudding with a weight on top. Leave overnight in the fridge weighted down on a tray in case of berry juice spillage.
    7. To serve, remove the clingfilm and turn out onto a serving dish and garnish with extra berries.