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'Have a human heart': berry pudding for Halloween

Christopher The and of Black Star Pastry

Christopher The' with his Summer pudding : Have a human heart.
Christopher The' with his Summer pudding : Have a human heart.Jacky Ghossein

For Halloween Christopher The of Black Star Pastry has gone "all Frankenstein" and created a creepy Have a Human Heart pudding.

For the berry compote

  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 100ml water
  • 1 cup (100g) caster sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 250g frozen blueberries
  • 250g frozen raspberries
  • 250g frozen blackberries
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  1. Carefully slice the vanilla bean in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Place a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add the water, vanilla pod and seeds into a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the water and bring to the boil with the sugar and cinnamon stick.
  2. Add the berries and boil gently for 2 minutes.
  3. Remove saucepan from the heat, and set the compote aside to cool to room temperature. Discard the vanilla bean and cinnamon stick.

To poach the rhubarb

  • 1 bunch of rhubarb
  • 2 cups (500ml) water
  • 500g caster sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • Rind of 1 orange
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • Preheat oven to 150C.
Christopher The' with his Summer pudding : Have a human heart.
Christopher The' with his Summer pudding : Have a human heart.Jacky Ghossein
  1. Trim the rhubarb of its leaves, leaving the tops of the stems that look like arteries. Place the rhubarb into a baking dish. Make sure you remove all of the green leaves as it does contain a natural toxin.
  2. Bring the water, sugar and vanilla bean (which has been cut and scraped), the orange rind and cinnamon stick to the boil and pour over the rhubarb. Cover with foil and bake for about 15 min. Be careful not to overcook the rhubarb or it will lose its shape. It should still be quite firm. Discard cinnamon stick, orange rind and vanilla bean.
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To assemble the heart

  • Canola oil
  • 5 pieces of sliced white bread
  1. Line a bowl with cling film and spray with canola oil.
  2. Get five pieces of sliced white bread and remove crusts.
  3. Strain the liquid from the compote and one by one dip the bread into the juice. Line the bowl with the bread, carefully overlapping the slices so there are no gaps. Spoon in the remaining compote and tie up the clingfilm.
  4. Refrigerate for 6 hours before unmoulding.
  5. Poke the poached rhubarb into the pudding to give the heart its arteries.
  6. Serve with chantilly cream, made from vanilla seeds, pure cream and 1 tbs caster sugar.

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