Strawberry Rhubarb Summer Pudding Recipe

5 from 1 review

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

Prep Time: 1

Bake Time: 10

Chilling Time: 8

Total Time: 9 10

6 portions

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.

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.