Super Summer Puds

1. Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of chilled water for 5 minutes, blitz the raspberries to a fine purée. Pass through a sieve into a clean bowl, discarding the pips, then stir in the raspberry liqueur. 

2. Now mix the cornflour with a little of the milk in a pan. Add the remaining milk, along with the sugar and ground almonds. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 3 to 5 minutes to thicken.

3. Squeeze out any excess water from the gelatine leaves, then add them to the pan, stirring continuously until dissolved. Add the almond extract. Stir in 300ml of the double cream and all the raspberry purée, combine thoroughly, then pour into the mould. Leave to set for at least six hours, preferably overnight.  

4. To serve, lightly whip the remaining 150ml of cream to soft peaks, then spoon into a medium piping bag fitted with a medium star nozzle.

5. Remove the mould from the fridge and quickly dip it into a bowl of hot water to loosen the blancmange. Invert the mould onto a serving plate to turn out the blancmange.  

6. Finally, pipe the cream around the base of the blancmange, then decorate with crystallised rose petals.

Author of The Cake Decorator’s Bible, Angela Nilsen, offers this stunning take on a classic British pud. 

1. Hull the strawberries and cut them in halves or quarters. Strip the blackcurrants and redcurrants – keep both the currants separate from the other fruits.

2. Tip the sugar into a wide, not too deep, saucepan. Measure in 3 tbsp water and the cassis. Put the pan on a low heat and cook, stirring often, until you can no longer hear the crunch of sugar grains on the bottom of the pan. Next, turn up the heat to medium-high and let the mixture bubble away for about 8 minutes. Let it go syrupy, but don’t let it change colour or caramelise.

3. Tip the blackcurrants and redcurrants into the hot syrup, then bring everything back up to a lively simmer and let it bubble again for no more than a minute, just to lightly burst and soften the currants without losing their shape. Take the pan off the heat.

4. Gently stir in the strawberries and raspberries – a large metal spoon is best so they don’t break up – and let the fruity mixture sit for about half an hour so the juices all mix in.

5. Trim crusts off bread. Cut a little square (about 4cm) from one slice and put it in the bottom of a 1.2-litre pudding basin. Using a big, slotted spoon, put a layer of fruit (about 3 spoonfuls) over the bread. Next, lay a slice of bread in the centre over the fruit, trimming to fit and filling any gaps with trimmings of bread so the fruit is covered. Continue layering with more fruit, more bread, then a final layer of fruit. Spoon over a few spoonfuls of juice. Cover the fruit with a final layer of bread, press down to compact everything, then cover with clingfilm and place a heavy cover over the top. Leave in the fridge overnight.

6. To turn out, go around the edge of the pudding with a round-bladed knife to release it, then invert it onto a plate. Enjoy!