This traditional English-Irish pudding is made by lining a deep dish with bread and filling the bread casing with lightly cooked berries. The pudding is then weighted and refrigerated overnight so that the berries and bread can amalgamate, making the pudding solid enough to turn out onto a plate. The pudding is spongy, moist, and wonderfully fresh tasting, and it is very pretty as well.Any combination of berries will work, so long as the total amount comes to 6 cups. Frozen berries work perfectly here.
Snugly line a 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish or other cylindrical mold with plastic wrap.
Cut into 3/8-inch-thick slices:
1 pound egg bread (increase amount by at least half if the loaves are braided)
If your loaf is not as tall as your mold, slice the loaf lengthwise. Remove and discard the crusts. Cover the bottom of the mold with bread slices, trimmed to fit, then line the sides with additional bread, slightly overlapping the slices. Trim enough additional bread to make 2 layers inside the pudding and a final layer on top. Combine in a large saucepan:
Stir gently over medium heat until the mixture comes to a simmer and the berries begin to release their juice. Spoon one-third of the berries into the bread-lined mold and cover with a layer of bread. Repeat twice. Press plastic wrap over the pudding, then cover with a cake pan or tart pan bottom that fits just inside the mold. Set a 2-pound weight on top of the pan and refrigerate the pudding for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. To serve, remove the weight, pan or pan bottom, and plastic wrap; invert the pudding onto a plate and peel off the plastic. Cut the pudding with a wide, shallow spoon. Serve with:
Heavy cream or light cream
The pudding can be made up to 3 days ahead. After 24 hours, remove the pan or pan bottom and weight and cover the dish securely with aluminum foil.
