Summer Berry Puddings

Summer Berry Puddings

Summer puddings are traditionally made with soft white bread and lots of sugar. This version takes it to a new level with berry stained almond bread. Of course if you don’t have time to make your own bread, you could use whatever bread you have on hand. And frozen berries work really well because you’re going to mash them anyway.

Enough for: 2
Takes: 10 minutes
100g (3.5oz) berries + extra to serve
1 tablespoon granular stevia* (optional)
2 little almond breads
thick cream, to serve

1. Mash berries together with stevia (if using) until you have a rough puree. Taste and adjust sweetness if needed.

2. Break each almond bread into about 4 chunks.

3. Squish almond bread chunks into the berry mixture until they are lovely and pink. Divide bread between 2 small glasses, tea cups or ramekins.

4. Scatter over extra berries and drizzle over any remaining berry-sugar mixture. Serve with cream.

Variations

*important note about stevia! – there are 4 types of stevia:
1. Pure Stevia Powder – looks like icing (powdered / confectioners) sugar. It’s expensive but a tiny amount goes a long long way. We’re talking 1/2 teaspoon to sweeten a whole cake. This is what I normally use – except for this recipe.
2. Granular Stevia (like Natvia or Truvia) – looks like regular white sugar. It’s a blend of erythritol and stevia. I’ve used it for these summer puddings because I only want to add a touch of sweetness and it’s easy to overdo it with pure stevia.
3. Fresh or Dried Stevia Leaves – from a real stevia plant! I haven’t baked with them but they will behave similar to the pure stevia powder. Just add to taste.
4. Liquid stevia. I haven’t used this. But add to taste.

pure stevia powder – I’ve used granular stevia here because I only want to add a touch of sweetness and it’s easy to overdo it with pure stevia. But you could add to taste if you prefer.

no stevia – you may not need extra sweetness if your berries are at their best. But if you do, add some sugar or your fave sweetener.

dairy-free/vegan – serve with whipped coconut cream: chill a can of coconut milk then spoon off the solid ‘cream’ from the top and whip as you would regular cream.

different berries – I’ve used raspberries in the photo but feel free to use a mixture of different berries.

larger batch – I often double or triple the batch.

nut-free / no almond bread – use whatever bread you like. 2 small slices is all you need. Remove any hard crusts before proceeding.

Shelf Life / Storage

Keeps for 1-2 weeks in the fridge or indefinitely in the freezer. Just allow to defrost before serving.