Recipe: Summer pudding

Ingredients

A couple of handfuls of mixed summer fruit
Berries, fresh or frozen
Caster sugar
Five medium- cut slices of bread, a few days old with the crusts removed
Vanilla ice cream
Four fresh mint leaves, shredded

Method

First place the berries and some sugar into a pan and bring to the boil.
Remove from the heat, adjust the sugar content if required, add the mint.
Allow to cool in a bowl and drain of the resulting coulis into a seperate bowl.
Rub cooking oil on to the moulds then line with cling film.
Cut each slice of bread in half, resulting in ten pieces.
From two of them cut two discs the same size as the bottom of the moulds.
Place the two discs into the coulis for a few minutes, ensuring they are well saturated, place the discs into the moulds.
Soak the remaining bread, using four per mould, line each mould by using two around the inside of each circumference and then two more standing vertically over the seams of the first two.
Fill each mould with the berries, fold over the bread to cover, then fold over the cling film.
Place the puddings in the fridge and chill over night.
Keep the coulis also for the next day to serve with the puddings
To serve, remove the pudding from the moulds, place on a serving dish and pour over coulis, top with thick whipped cream.

Recipe: Chocolate pot, Berry compote

Serves six
For the chocolate pot:
400ml milk
250ml double cream
200gm chocolate
Four egg yokes
45gm caster sugar
A few drops (half a teaspoon) of vanilla essence – not vanilla flavouring

Method
For the blueberry compote:
200gm blueberries
Juice of one lemon
20gm caster sugar
One whole vanilla pod
Pre-heat the oven to 140°C (gas mark 1).
To cook and serve the chocolate pot you will need six ramekins. First, in a bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla essence until creamy. Gently heat the milk and cream together in a pan until boiling. Reduce the heat and add the chocolate until it melts. Immediately, pour the milk and cream onto the eggs and sugar, whisking as you do so.
Divide the mixture equally into the ramekins and place them in a roasting dish into which you then pour hot water, half way up the ramekins. Place the roasting tin in the oven and bake until set. How long? It depends on a number of factors but probably around 20 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.
To make the blueberry compote, place all the ingredients into a pan and, stirring, bring to the boil. Remove the vanilla pod and allow to cool.
To serve, place the chocolate pot onto a plate with, perhaps, some fresh fruit (strawberries are sublime with chocolate) and serve the blueberry compote alongside.

Lillies and Fynns home grown strawberries, balsamic reduction, Vanilla pod ice cream

Ingredients
For Two

2 cups of ripe strawberries
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons balsamic
2 scoops Vanilla bean ice cream

Method
Pick, wash and dry the berries
When you are ready to eat half the berries
Sprinkle the berries with the sugar, mix and allow to sit for a few minutes
Place the berries in bowls and top with the icecream
Pour over the balsamic

If you dont grow your own as Lillie does at home, Pick your own farms are a handy ways to find locally grown produce at a good price, end of season picks are good for cheap berries, great for jam making.