Summer pudding

In a stainless steel pan heat the berries, water, cordial and sugar for a few minutes, until the berries start to release their bright juices. Summer pudding needs a bit of sharpness so don’t overdo the sugar, in fact I would add half then taste and see if you need the rest. On the other hand you may be sweet-toothed, so add a bit more, but you mustn’t overpower the sharpness of the fruit.

Cut the crusts off the bread (you could make breadcrumbs with them and freeze), then cut each slice in half apart from three. With those three cut them into circles that will fit into the dish as layers – you need a 1 litre pudding basin. Most summer puddings don’t have layers of bread actually inside the pudding, but I like it this way.

Now strain the fruit and keep the juice aside. Dip one of the circles into the juice and press it into the bottom of the dish. Then dip each square-edged slice into the juice and use to line the whole dish, overlapping each slice slightly, filling it any gaps and pressing them together to make a seal.

Now tip in some of the fruit then add a disc of bread and do the same til all fruit and bread is layered up, finishing with a bread top.

Pour over any remaining juice.

Now squash it all down using a saucer or anything quite flat that will sit on top of the bowl and just inside the rim, you’ll need to place it in a tray first to catch any stray juice. Put something heavy’ish on top of the saucer to squash it down

Put it in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. It can also be frozen.

To serve, gently and carefully run a palette knife around the sides to looosen, without tearing, then put a plate on top and tip the whole thing upside down to turn out.

Serve with double cream.