Summer Pudding

Ingredients for 16 finger sandwiches:

• 10 slices of white bread (medium thickness)
• 1kg of berries: 200g of each strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and red current (fresh or frozen)
• 200g caster sugar
• 30ml of Chambord
• 300ml whipping cream
• 2 tsp Elderflower syrup or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Place the berries and the sugar in a pan and heat up by mixing regularly to make sure the sugar dissolves properly. When the juices start to bubble, turn the heat off and leave to cool while you prepare the bread.

Cut the crust off the slices of bread and cut 5 large pieces of cling film big enough to wrap each individual sandwich.

Strain the juices through a sieve in a large deep plate and reserve. Dip each slice of bread in the juice, making sure it absorbs a much juice as possible. Lift off the slice of bread gently and place on the cling film sheet. Spoon some berries on top of the bread to cover it completely. Dip another slice of bread in the juice and place on top of the fruits. Press down gently and do the same with all the other sandwiches. Pour any of left over juices on top but I didn’t have much left.

Wrap the sandwiches in cling film very tightly trying not to trap too much air in. Do the same with the other 4 sandwiches and place them on a large baking tray. My chopping board could fit right in so I placed it on top and then added weight on top to squash the sandwich down. Whatever system you use, make sure the pressure on top of the sandwiches is the same otherwise you’ll end up with uneven thickness.

Leave in the fridge at least overnight. Remove the weights and remove the cling film gently before cutting each sandwich in 3. Before serving, whip up some cream and add the elderflower syrup. Spoon or pipe on top of the finger sandwiches, the more the better, trust me.