I think everyone enjoys the process of making and eating a summer pudding from the day out with the family picking the fruit and then the anticipation of how the pudding will taste as it is pressed and stored overnight. I just find the use of plain bread a little bit dull and wanted to give the dish a festive twist. Panetone, which is an Italian Christmas and Easter cake, became an obvious choice. The pressed layers of this cake, spiked with orange peel, cinnamon and liqueur soaked fruit, is an absolutely delicious combination with the red wine marinated fruits. Try using wine which has strong berry and red fruit characteristics.
Ingredients and Methods
Ingredients
Pudding
1 Panetone thinly sliced
300ml raspberry coulis
350ml shiraz red wine
1 vanilla pod scraped
2 sticks of cinnamon
175g castor sugar
3 leaves of gelatine
75g hulled strawberries cut in four
75g blueberries
75g blackberries
25g blackcurrants
Summer Fruits:
1L dessert stock syrup
250ml moscato wine
Garnish
Mixed berries
Yoghurt or Vanilla Ice cream
1 tablespoon mint sprigs
Method
Take 4x6cm soufflé moulds and brush with raspberry coulis. Now slice the panetone into 2cm thick sheets, cut 8 circles with a 6cm cookie cutter. Place a disc of panetone into the base of each mould snuggly, then brush with raspberry coulis, now refrigerate moulds and panetone till required.
Now bring to the boil the red wine with vanilla, cinnamon and sugar, soak the gelatine and dissolve into the wine, allow to cool. Pass the wine through a strainer then pour over the berries to marinate for an hour. After an hour spoon a generous quantity of the berries into the lined mould and press down firmly. Add some of the wine to just fill the moulds. Then dip the round disc of panetone into the wine for a minute or so until they have absorbed the wine. Place on top of the berries and press down firmly. Place the moulds onto a tray, then another tray on top and press down firmly with a heavy weight and refrigerate overnight. Now prepare your summer fruits.
After 24 hours unmould the pudding and spoon over any left over red wine syrup then brush with raspberry coulis and refrigerate till required.
Now to serve, place a neat spoonful of coulis in the centre of your plate. Arrange a pudding on top, then spoon over enough sauce to cover.
Decorate each pudding with some more berries, serve with yoghurt or vanilla ice-cream and garnish with mint.
Chef Paul Wilson
Credited with serving some of Australia’s most exciting food, Paul Wilson has been described as one of the most extraordinary culinary talents in the Commonwealth & continues to receive critical acclaim for crafting inspiring dishes that take an innovative approach to cuisine traditions. (more)
