A XMAS SUMMER PUDDING

This pudding is at its best with a mix of sweet and tart fruits for example strawberries , raspberries , blueberries and if available red or black currents . If you are using frozen fruits make sure they are well defrosted . Place 600gm of mixed ripe / thawed fruits in a medium saucepan with 7 tbs ( 100gm ) of castor sugar , stir together and bring to a slow simmer. Remove from the heat . The fruits will release a lot of juice . Now line the base and sides of a 3 and 3/4 cup pudding pan with a light spray of cooking oil and then with thick slices of one or two day old bread ( crusts removed ) , overlapping slightly and trimming if necessary . You will need to keep aside a slice or two for the "lid". Fill the mould with all the fruit , you may find you have more juice than you need , (that's okay , you can use it as a topping when serving .) Now slice the reserved bread to fit the top of the pudding pan , place a plate on top that just fits inside the rim and weigh it down with a couple of tins from the pantry . Refrigerate for 8 hours . When ready to serve , invert the pudding pan onto a large plate and pour over any reserved juice . Serve with cream .