Raspberry Summer Pudding

TO MAKE THE RASPBERRY FILLING

Step 1: Place the berries in a pan with the cinnamon stick, caster sugar, citrus peel, vanilla pod, vanilla essence, a splash of water and the lemon juice.

Step 2: Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for 2–3 minutes, until the berries are becoming slightly soft and the juices are coming out. Remove and discard the pieces of citrus peel.

Step 3: Add the cornflour, cook out until thickened then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

TO MAKE THE VANILLA CREME FRAICHE

Step 4: Mix the cream with the sugar, vanilla seeds and vanilla essence and whisk lightly, before adding the crème fraîche and mixing until thick. Reserve in the fridge until needed.

TO MAKE THE RASPBERRY COULIS

Step 5: Wash the raspberries, cut into quarters then mix with the sugar and lemon juice. Leave to marinate for 1 hour.

Step 6: Place in the blender and blitz, but not for too long as you want to be able to remove the seeds when you pass it through a sieve. If you blitz for too long the seeds will get pureéd into the fruit and the colour will not be as red, so 30 seconds is ample.

TO MAKE THE SETTING JELLY

Step 7: Bring 100 ml of the coulis to a simmer in a small pan and add the gelatine. Stir until dissolved then pass through a fine chinois.

TO PREPARE THE BRIOCHE

Step 8: Remove the crusts from the loaf and cut into 2, vaguely square-shaped halves.

Step 9: Cut each square into 0.5 cm thick slices. Out of the biggest slices, use 5 cm cutters to stamp out 8 circles – these will be used for the tops and the bottoms of the puddings.

Step 10: Cut the rest of the slices in half to create rectangular strips, roughly 2 cm x 8 cm in size.

Step 11: Press a circle of bread firmly into the base of each mould, then use the rectangular strips to line the edges. If there are any gaps, use smaller pieces of brioche to fill them (make sure the bread is firmly pressed against the mould for this whole process).

Step 12: Spoon half of the setting liquor over the brioche in the moulds to make them moist, then spoon in the raspberries.

Step 13: Add the rest of the setting jelly to the top, stirring it into the raspberries with a small spoon, then finally place the last circles of brioche on top.

Step 14: Apply small weights to the top of the puddings, ensuring the edges of brioche are sealed, and place in the fridge to set overnight.

Step 15: When ready to serve, remove the puddings from their moulds, place on plates and drizzle the raspberry coulis over the tops so they are nicely covered. Arrange the raspberries around the puddings and finish with a quenelle of the crème fraîche.