A couple of weeks ago, I went blueberry picking at a nearby farm. I managed one gallon an hour, but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the birds and popping fresh fat berries in my mouth whenever I needed an energy boost to keep going. I wish everyone had the opportunity to grow or harvest their own food, as it gives you an appreciation and respect for what we feed ourselves on a daily basis.

As much as I enjoy a well-made dessert, I enjoy even more the simple pleasure of eating berries straight from the bush, feeling the sun on my face and savoring the sweet juicy-tart goodness uncluttered with anything else. As a baker, I strive to bring out the flavor of that fruit and celebrate it, not just cover it up with a load of sugar.

Here are a few simple recipes to help you appreciate the bounty of summer fruit, especially the blueberry. You can use fresh or frozen fruit in either recipe and neither one will require you to slave away in the kitchen when you’d rather be outside enjoying summer fun.

Summer Pudding

Don’t let the name fool you. This is a British dessert and pudding on that side of the pond does NOT mean what it does here in America. This one only requires you briefly cook some berries on the stove and the real magic happens overnight in your refrigerator. The end result is soft, intensely fruity, and fresh. Perfect accompanied with homemade whipped cream! Thanks to Joy of Cooking for the inspiration!

Ingredients:

One loaf of Hawaiian Sweet bread or brioche (crusts trimmed off, and best if slices are 3/8th of an inch or so thick. I cut my pre-sliced slices in half with a sharp bread knife. Only took a few minutes to do.)

36 ounces of berries: combo of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. I used frozen to save time.

1 cup of granulated sugar

Juice of one lemon (3 tablespoons)

Combine the berries, sugar and lemon juice in saucepan and heat to a gentle simmer on the stove. You don’t have to completely thaw frozen berries as you’ll be cooking them anyway. Once the mixture has simmered enough so the berries have begun to let out their juices, take off the heat and set aside.

Line a round 1 1/2 quart bowl with 2 layers of plastic wrap, making sure some of the wrap extends over the bowl’s edges. Take a slice of prepared bread and briefly press one side into the berry mixture. Put it on the bottom of the inside of the bowl, berry side down. Continue with other bread slices, overlapping slightly, until the inside of the bowl is lined to the top. That way the outside of your pudding will have a beautiful color. On my first one, I found out that the juices don’t penetrate every slice and I had several light sections when I turned it out later.

Once your bowl is bread lined, spoon about 1/3 of the berry mixture, which is still warm, into the bowl. Press down gently. Cover with sliced bread, tearing pieces as needed to fit. Don’t overthink it! Then spoon more of the fruit mixture, press down gently, and cover with more bread. Do the last bit of the fruit and cover with a final layer of bread. Take the plastic wrap that is hanging over the sides, and lay over the top. Cover securely with another sheet of plastic wrap and find a plate or other round flat lid that fits just inside the top of the bowl and set it on top. Find 2 or 3 cans of food from your pantry to act as weights, and set them on the plate so the pudding is pressed together. Put the entire thing into your refrigerator for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight or up to 24 hours.

When ready to serve, remove the cans, plate and last layer of plastic wrap. Peel back the other plastic wrap and put your serving plate face down on top. Turn it all right side up, and gently loosen the plastic wrap so the pudding releases from the bowl. Remove the remaining plastic wrap and garnish the pudding with assorted fresh fruit. I cut mine in wedges to serve, but you can just spoon it into serving dishes as well. Don’t forget the whipped cream!

Blueberry Bread Pudding

OK, so it looks like we have a pudding theme going on here. But this one is quite different, and much like the traditional bread pudding we have here in America. When I came across this idea when investigating blueberry recipes, I was intrigued with the process of hollowing out Hawaiian sweet rolls and turning it into a dessert.

I have a link to the recipe and instructions I found, but of course, I had to put my own spin on it. I felt the end result would be better with more of the custard. Mine was quite puffed up when it came out of the oven, but settled down respectfully after a few moments of cooling. I also let my bread soak for 30 minutes before I put it in the oven. Here’s the link, https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a27257493/pull-apart-blueberry-bread-pudding-recipe/ and here is my version of the milk/egg mixture:

4 eggs, beaten

2 1/2 cups combined of milk/cream/half-n-half (I used 2 cups of half-n-half and 1/2 cup of whole milk, but you can do all of one or any combo)

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

zest of one lemon

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

pinch of salt