St. Louis Bread Company Summer Pudding

Source: St. Louis Bread Company

8 to 10 thin slices French bread, preferably 2 days old
4 cups ripe strawberries, stemmed and quartered
4 cups other berries (raspberries and/or blackberries), rinsed well
1 tablespoon framboise
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream

Remove crusts from the bread. Reserve 2 or 3 slices to cover the top of the pudding.

In a 2-quart glass bowl, arrange the remaining slices to cover the entire inside. Put strawberries and sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for approximately 2-3 minutes until the strawberries begin to give off juice. Add raspberries and/or blackberries and continue cooking about 3 minutes, or until berries break down. Cool berry mixture and add lemon juice, framboise, and a pinch of salt.

When cool, pour berries and juice into bread lined bowl. Cover with reserved bread slices. Place a plate on top and weight down with another pan or heavy cans. Refrigerate overnight.

When ready to serve, whip the cream until stiff. Sweeten cream if desired. Invert the pudding onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and top with whipped cream.

6-8 servings