When the weather reaches almost 100 degrees at my house, the last thing I want to do is turn on a HOT oven. During the summer months, I crave recipes that require very few ingredients and effort. Because when it’s hotter than heck, even putting an apron on can feel like too much work.
Raspberries+ Sugar+ Milk= Dessert Alchemy. This recipe requires such little effort for a really big payoff. Toss juicy red raspberries in sugar and let them sit. Slightly soak rounds of bread in milk. One berry layer, one milky bread layer, smoosh & repeat. A small stint in the fridge… Invert, add a dollop of whipped cream followed by berries on top and then what do you get? Cold juicy summer berry studded puddings that are light, decadent, dark red & delicious. If you need me, I’ll be huddled over my A/C vent eating one of these.
And we’re off!
Raspberries, sugar & a bowl.
Put them together and stir. Let sit for 30 mins.
White bread. Cut the crusts off. Freeze the crusts. Make breadcrumbs one day.
Find a cup the size of the inside of your ramekin. Cut out bread circles!
Raspberries are ready!
Fill a pie plate up with the milk. Get your assembly line going.
Dunk your bread. Whatever you do, don’t look at my chipping glitter nail polish.
Put the milky bread in the ramekin.
Top with berries. Spread a little. REPEAT both steps.
Top the final layer with berries.
Wrap them up and place a can on top of each ramekin. Put on a big plate and pop in the fridge.
A few hours later you have THIS. Invert on the serving plate.
Add whipped cream on top & a few berries.
EAT!!
Little Summer Berry Puddings
Makes 4
(recipe from The Canal House Cookbook, Vol. 1)
- 4 cups fresh raspberries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 12 slices white bread, crusts removed
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup softly whipped cream
Put the raspberries in a bowl and sprinkle the sugar over them. Shake the bowl to mix them together without crushing the berries. Set aside to macerate for half an hour.
You will need four 6-8-ounce ramekins for your pudding molds. Cut a circle out of each slice of bread, using a ramekin as a template. Pour the milk into a wide dish.
Working with one circle of bread at a time, quickly dip the bread into the milk until just moist but not soggy, then press it into one of the ramekins, lining the bottom. Cover the layer of bread with a generous layer of berries. Make another layer with the moistened bread and berries, then add a third circle of moistened bread. The ramekin should be filled to (or even swollen above) the rim. Layer the remaining 3 ramekins in the same fashion, using the remaining bread and berries. Spoon any juices over the top.
Put the filled ramekins on a small tray or baking dish, loosely cover each one with plastic wrap or parchment paper, and set a heavy dish directly on top of them as a weight to press the layers together.
Refrigerate the puddings until the bread and berries have completely melded together, about 4 hours. They’ll keep well in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
To serve, uncover the ramekins and run a small knife around the inside edges. Invert each pudding onto a dessert plate and unmold it gently. Sprinkle the puddings with some sugar and put a nice spoonful of whipped cream on top.
