Roasted Rhubarb Summer Pudding

Roasted Rhubarb Summer Pudding may look a little fancy in these photos, but it is so simple to make. Store bought white bread is soaked with strawberry syrup and filled with roasted rhubarb.  Serve with a custard sauce, or just vanilla ice cream to make it even easier.

This old-fashioned British dessert is called Summer Pudding because it’s usually made in the height of summer with fresh, seasonal berries like currants and raspberries. Of course it’s not a “pudding” as Americans know pudding (a milk based custard), but a “pudding” in the British sense of the word, meaning dessert.

Since I’m making this with rhubarb, which is a springtime fruit (well, technically, a vegetable) in my corner of the world, I guess this is really a late spring pudding.

This really is a simple recipe. The only cooking involves roasting the rhubarb and reducing the juice. Rhubarb cooked on the stove produces a stewed fruit with a texture closer to applesauce than the chunky fruit filling that I wanted.

I decided to macerate and roast the rhubarb to keep some texture in the filling. In my Peach Pie post I explain why macerating fruit in sugar helps it keep it shape while cooking. Also, roasting intensifies the sweetness in the rhubarb which allowed me to use less sugar.

Scroll through the photos to see how to make Roasted Rhubarb Summer Pudding:

This recipe is so easy because instead of making a tart crust or cake to encase the filling, you use packaged, white sandwich bread.

Don’t be tempted to use slices of cake or a super rich brioche instead. The bland flavor of white bread is perfect for soaking up the syrup and allowing the flavor of the fruit to shine.

I made a strawberry syrup to soak the bread because strawberry and rhubarb work so well together.

I served the Roasted Rhubarb Summer Pudding with a traditional Crème Anglaise, or vanilla custard sauce. This flavor combination echoes the classic flavors of stewed rhubarb and custard.

If you don’t want to fuss with making the custard sauce just serve the pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead.

The puddings can be assembled several days ahead and refrigerated until ready to serve. The custard can be made up to two days ahead and refrigerated. You can use smaller ramekins for smaller portions or one large ramekin for a family style presentation.

I am obsessed with the unique flavor of rhubarb. You too? Here are a few more recipes for you to try:

• Classic Rhubarb Pie
• Rhubarb Crumb Pie
• Rhubarb Meringue Tart
• Rhubarb Crumb Cake
• Rhubarb Fritters
• Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
• Rhubarb Shortcakes
• Rhubarb Crumb Bars
• Rhubarb Sorbet
• Rhubarb Ice Cream

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5 from 1 review

Strawberry Rhubarb Summer Pudding Recipe

By: Eileen Gray

This simple, old-fashioned dessert only looks fancy. It requires almost no cooking and uses plain white bread for the “crust”.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Bake Time10 minutes mins

Chilling Time8 hours hrs

Total Time9 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

6 portions

US CustomaryMetric

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Ingredients

Strawberry Syrup

• 1 pint fresh strawberries (hulled and cleaned)
• 4 oz granulated sugar (½ cup)

Roasted Rhubarb

• 3 pounds rhubarb (cut into ½" dice)
• 16 oz granulated sugar (2 cups)
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Assembly

• 1 loaf White Sandwich Bread (sliced)

Instructions

Strawberry Syrup & Roasted Rhubarb

• In a food processor, puree 1 pint fresh strawberries with 4 oz granulated sugar. Strain the puree through fine sieve lined with cheesecloth to remove the seeds. Set the syrup aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 °F. Toss 3 pounds rhubarb with 16 oz granulated sugar and ¼ teaspoon table salt, allow to macerate for 30 minutes.
• Drain the juice from the rhubarb into a small pot. Place the rhubarb onto a parchment lined baking sheet and smooth to an even layer, don’t mound up or it’ll steam instead of roasting.
• Roast until the rhubarb is softened and beginning to brown (about 15-20 minutes). Don’t stir the rhubarb while it’s roasting or it will break down. If the pieces around the edges of the tray are getting very brown remove the tray from the oven and carefully lift the sides of the parchment paper to roll the pieces along the edge towards the middle of the tray. Shake the tray to redistribute the pieces and return to the oven.
• Remove the tray from the oven and allow the rhubarb to cool to room temperature.
• While the rhubarb is roasting, cook the rhubarb juice that you strained into a pot over medium high until it's reduced by 1/2 and is thickened to the consistency of heavy syrup. Cool to room temperature (about 1 ¼ cups juice after reducing). Toss the cooled rhubarb with the thickened juices, 1 teaspoon ginger powder and 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice.

Assembly

• Line six 12 oz ramekins with a piece of plastic wrap so that it covers the inside of the ramekin and hangs over the sides.
• Cut a round of bread to fit exactly in the bottom of each ramekin. Trim the crusts from the bread and cut strips the height of the ramekin. Line the sides of the ramekin with the bread strips.
• Drizzle strawberry syrup over the bread lining the ramekins, you should use about 2/3 of the syrup to soak the bread. Divide the rhubarb filling among the 6 dishes, packing the fruit tightly
• Cut a circle of bread to top each pudding (if you run out of bread you can use scraps for this since it will be the bottom of the dessert). Use the remaining strawberry syrup to soak the bread on top of each pudding. You can reserve a couple of tablespoons for decorating the plate if you’d like.
• Fold the plastic wrap over the puddings and refrigerate overnight.
• To serve, peel back the plastic wrap from the top of each pudding. Flip the pudding onto a serving plate and lift off the ramekin. Peel away the plastic wrap. Serve with Creme Anglaise or Vanilla Ice Cream and garnish with fresh berries, if you'd like.

Equipment

My Book

Food Processor

Ramekins

Biscuit Cutters

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Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 573kcal | Carbohydrates: 135g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 346mg | Potassium: 839mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 103g | Vitamin A: 241IU | Vitamin C: 65mg | Calcium: 315mg | Iron: 3mg

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