It’s so hot again this week in Rome, and while I look at many stunning photos from my dear friends who are enjoying some of Italy’s finest beaches, I have been passing the time at home, baking, cleaning… oh and ironing. I did make a little pavlova using a different recipe from my usual go-to recipe, which really didn’t turn out at all how I’d hoped. I know this was due to the bottled pasteurised egg whites I bought and as I am a ‘testarda’ as they say in Italian, I was determined to get this different pavlova recipe right. So, there is a pavlova cooling in the oven as I type, but today I’m going to show you what I made yesterday. I have been thinking of alternatives to Summer Pudding, and thought it would work just as well with other fruit. Yesterday I made 3 small summer puddings with pan brioche, apricots, peaches & nectarines. These are a delicious way to use summer fruit and although I photographed them without, I strongly recommend eating these with a very healthy serve of good quality vanilla gelato!
Peach & Apricot Summer Pudding
- EQUAL weights of fruit & sugar.
- 100g apricots
- 100g peaches
- 100g nectarines
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 loaf of plain white sandwich bread or pan brioche
- 200ml apricot nectar
- Wash and cut all fruit into same size cubes. Place in saucepan with the caster sugar and apricot nectar and cook over medium heat. Stir occasionally, bring to the boil and remove from heat when sugar has melted, and juice has reduced a little to a syrup.
- Strain fruit over a bowl, and put both syrup and fruit aside and allow to cool.
- Using a circle cutter, cut a base from the bread to fit into the base of the bowl or mold you have chosen. Cut bread into strips for sides of mold.
- Dip the bread discs quickly into the syrup. Place the discs into the base of the molds. Repeat the same with the bread strips, placing them around the inside of the mold, ensuring they are touching or even overlapping a little.
- Spoon the fruit into the molds, dividing the fruit evenly. Top with another disc of bread cut to the same diameter as the top of the mold, (also dipped into syrup) to enclose the filling. Cover with plastic kitchen wrap and place a weight on top. Put the puddings into the fridge overnight. Save any remaining fruit but especially save any remaining syrup.
- Ease puddings out of the molds by pulling on the plastic wrap gently. Place upside down on a plate. Drizzle some of the extra syrup on top and serve with vanilla gelato.
