SENSATIONAL SUMMER PUDDING

There’s virtually no fat in this tasty traditional dessert, and if you use good ripe fruit then you don’t need much sweetener either. A large white sandwich loaf works a treat for the bread casing.

Serves 6 131 calories l per serving l Low-calorie olive

oil spray l 6 slices of white bread, crusts removed l 300g (10½oz) strawberries, hulled and cut up if large l 200g (7oz)

raspberries l 200g (7oz)

blueberries l 100g (3½oz) redcurrants, stalks removed, plus extra to garnish l Sugar-free sweetener, to taste

Lightly spritz a 900ml pudding basin with oil, and line with cling film. Take a slice of bread and cut it into a round that will fit the bottom of the basin. Cut the rest of the slices into thirds widthways and use most of these to line the sides. Overlap them very slightly with one another and the base to ensure there are no gaps and press the bread down as much as possible. You should have a couple of slices left over for later.

Put all the fruit in a saucepan and add 3tbsp of water. Simmer very gently until the fruit is lightly cooked and has given out a lot of juice. The liquid should be a deep reddish purple. Stir as little as possible to avoid breaking up the fruit too much.

You’ll find most of the raspberries will break up anyway but that’s fine, as they will provide juice for the pudding. Taste for sweetness and add a little sweetener to get the flavour you like.

Ladle some of the juice into the bottom of the basin and allow to soak into the bread.

With a slotted spoon, transfer all the fruit into the pudding basin. Pour in as much of the juice as possible, without it overflowing, then top with the remaining bread slices. Put a saucer on top of the pudding and weight it down with something heavy, such as a tin of tomatoes. Put the pudding in the fridge and leave it for several hours, preferably overnight. Save any leftover juice for covering any white patches and serving with the pudding.

When you are ready to serve, place a serving plate upside-down on top of the basin and turn the basin over to unmould the pudding. Carefully peel off the cling film. Cover any white patches with some of the leftover juice you kept aside and garnish with the extra redcurrants.

You can serve with dollops of low-fat crème fraîche if you like, but don’t forget to bear in mind the extra calories.