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Hedgerow pudding

Large terracotta pot of Hedgerow pudding with serving spoon. Small blue dish with portion of pudding with cream and a silver spoon. Branches of rosehips and haws on either side. Slatted wooden background. For Hedgerow pudding recipe.

Similar to a Summer pudding, this recipe layers the stewed fruit with the slices of bread rather than surrounding the fruit with them.  It is also baked and eaten hot rather than chilled.  The pudding provides a very good reason for a day out searching for and picking the fruits found in hedgerows in late summer and early autumn.

Equipment

  • Weighing scales
  • Measuring jug
  • Ovenproof dish (5cm deep, 20cm diameter)
  • Large saucepan
  • Sieve
  • Bowl
  • Kitchen foil

Preparation method

  • First you will need to prepare the fruit and this can be a quick or lengthy job depending on the particular fruit you have gathered.  For blackberries, elderberries and haws, remove the berries from stalks and leaves and rinse in a sieve under running cold water.  Cut crab apples in half, remove the core but leave the skin on. Wash damsons or bullaces and then cut in half and remove the stones.  Rosehips are a little complicated.  First rinse the hips in a sieve under running cold water.  Cut them in half with a very sharp knife and remove the seeds and fine hairs inside.  It is important that the very fine hairs are removed as they can cause irritation in the throat if eaten.  Once the seeds have been removed place the hip halves in a bowl of cold water.  Most of the hairs will rise to the surface.  However, it is worth using your nails or a teaspoon to make sure no hairs are clinging to the inside of the skins.
  • Preheat the oven to 160C/315F/gas 2½.  
  • Butter the ovenproof dish.  
  • Place elderberries, haws, rosehips and crab apples in the saucepan with the sugar, add the water and bring to the boil.  
  • Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer gently until the crab apples, rosehips, haws, elderberries and crab apples are tender (about 25 minutes).  
  • Add the blackberries and damsons and continue to cook for 10 to 15 minutes.  You should have mushy fruit and quite a lot of thick juice.  
  • Place a sieve over a large bowl and strain the fruit.  Set the fruit aside.  
  • Allow the fruit and strained juice to cool for 15 minutes.  
  • Cut the bread into slices of about 1.5cm thick and remove the crusts.  
  • Place half of the fruit at the bottom of the ovenproof dish.  
  • Dip the bread into the juice and place a layer of dipped bread slices over the top of the fruit.  
  • Place the rest of the fruit over the bread.  
  • Add another layer of dipped bread slices on top.  
  • Cover the dish with kitchen foil, place in the oven and bake for an hour.  
  • Take out of the oven and remove the kitchen foil.  
  • Dot the top with butter and scatter over the demerara sugar.  
  • Return to the oven uncovered and bake for a further 15 minutes or until the sugar and butter have melted into the bread.  
  • Serve immediately with cream, custard or ice-cream.   

More puddings using fresh fruit
Huntingdon pudding
Kentish cherry batter pudding
Michaelmas dumplings
Stir-in pudding
Summer pudding

Victorian

Serves:
8
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • Butter for greasing
  • 1 kg hedgerow fruits such as blackberries, reships crab apples, bullaces or damsons, elderberries, haws
  • 200 g caster sugar
  • 200 g water
  • 1 large loaf of white bread
  • 100 g demerara sugar

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Hedgerow pudding
Serving Size
 
200 g
Amount per Serving
Calories
282
Percent of Daily Value*
Fat
 
1.1
g
2
%
Saturated Fat
 
0.2
g
1
%
Sodium
 
172
mg
7
%
Potassium
 
218
mg
6
%
Carbohydrates
 
67
g
22
%
Fiber
 
7.3
g
30
%
Sugar
 
48
g
53
%
Protein
 
4.8
g
10
%
Calcium
 
270
mg
27
%
Iron
 
2.2
mg
12
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Keywords

Bread, Hedgerow fruit, Sweet pudding

Michaelmas

© Dr Caroline Gordon 
2026
Illustrations by Chichi Parish
Site by Anselm Eustace