The famous Italian Panna Cotta dessert is not for the faint hearted by any stretch. Lately Panna Cotta wobbles into events and has been seen on wedding menus and various events.
It literally translates as “cooked cream,” delicious that it melts in your mouth and is simply the perfect accompaniment to any dinner menu because any palette seems to take to it. It is just simply a mixture of cream, sugar and vanilla. This Italian dessert originated from Piedmont in North Italy.
This dessert can be made in less than twenty minutes and for those vegetarians Panna Cotta with Agar agar is suitable.
Ingredients: Serves 4 (Dinner party – Increase quantity by doubling it depending on the amount of people invited)
- 425ml double cream
- 75ml whole milk
- 90g granulated sugar
- 6 gr gelatin leaves
- ½ vanilla pod
Instructions:
You will need to soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 10 minutes until soft while the cream milk and sugar are stirring in the pot.
Split the vanilla pod, scrape the seeds and add along with the pod the cream mixture that you have already prepared. The cream needs to be heated gently until it is hot but not to the point where it is bubbling.
At this point you can remove the gelatin leaves from the water, squeeze out any excess liquid then add to the hot cream. You will need to keep whisking until the gelatine is completely dissolved and smooth. We do not want to see any little gelatin granules. Adding Frangelico is the last and most important part. Strain the mixture through a sieve and then have this mixture divided into four ramekins and leave to cool.
Your Panna Cotta will set by placing it in the fridge for a minimum of six hours. It is usually best to make the night before because if you are entertaining you will be able to style your dinner party and not worry about the dessert at all.
A tip to unmold your Panna Cotta means immersing the ramekin in a container of hot water for no more than two seconds. Once you have done that you can flip them and unmold.
Platting them up is the fun part because you can use fresh summer berries for a simple yet stunning dessert or if you make a cardamom Panna Cotta grilled peaches and rich white chocolate is the way to go. So many variations can be created and it is the wobble that truly distinguishes whether you have succeeded or failed. When you next attend an event make sure you put your Panna Cotta to the test and give it a wobble.
