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Vanilla Panna Cotta with Strawberry Gelee and Florentine cookies

March 4, 2011 in Desserts

February Daring Bakers Challenge

I have blogged about panna cotta in the past. In fact I have two panna cotta posts, the strawberry panna cotta and a milk chocolate panna cotta. But they have been healthier versions of the panna cotta but this blog is about the original panna cotta, the melt in your mouth kind, the kind you shut out all other senses for…

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Both the recipes are absolutely easy to make even in large quantities and so delicious. I actually rate my recipes by the rate at which Amit finishes the dish. And this one actually was cleaned out in about 3-4 minutes. So now you can rate the dish yourself. Hope you enjoy the recipe and love it as much as I loved it.

I was supposed to post this recipe last weekend but due to my very hectic schedule now, I was able to make the cookies but not the panna cotta last weekend.

Giada’s Vanilla Panna Cotta

Ingredients:

  1. 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
  2. 1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
  3. 3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat)
  4. 1/3 cup (80 ml) honey
  5. 1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar
  6. pinch of salt

Directions:

  • Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
  • Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. (I whisk it a few times at this stage).
  • Next, add the cream, honey, sugar, and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn’t boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved 5-7 minutes.
  • Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin.
  • Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Add garnishes and serve.

I added a layer of strawberry gelee over my vanilla panna cotta. The recipe for that follows.

Strawberry Gelee

Ingredients:

  1. 1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) (8 oz) fruit (strawberries, raspberries, mango, blackberry, etc.)*Note:  Certain fruits interact with gelatin and stop it gelling like pineapple and kiwi etc.
  2. 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
  3. 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  4. 1½ teaspoons (7½ ml) (3½ gm) (1/8 oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
  5. 1/4 cup triple sec

Directions:

  • Sprinkle gelatin over water.
  • Place the fruit and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer until sugar has dissolved.
  • Next add the triple sec and let the mixture come to a boil.
  • Now mix the gelatin into the strawberry mixture and stir until gelatin has dissolved.
  • Let the gelee mixture simmer till the fruit has completely disintegrated.
  • Remove from heat and allow to cool (close to room temp, again, if you’re planning on layering on pouring on top of your Panna Cotta, a hot mixture will also heat up your chilled Panna Cotta).

I added a few slices of strawberry over the chilled panna cotta before adding the gelee over it.

Nestle Florentine Cookies

Ingredients:

This recipe is from the cookbook “Nestle Classic Recipes”.

  1. 2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm) (5.3 oz) unsalted butter
  2. 2 cups (480 ml) (160 gm) (5 2/3 oz) quick oats
  3. 1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) (8 oz) granulated sugar
  4. 2/3 cup (160 ml) (95 gm) (3⅓ oz) plain (all purpose) flour
  5. 1/4 cup (60 ml) dark corn syrup
  6. 1/4 cup (60 ml) whole milk
  7. 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
  8. pinch of salt
  9. 1½ cups (360 ml) (250 gm) (9 oz) dark or milk chocolate

Directions:

This recipe will make about 2 1/2 – 3 dozen sandwiched Florentine cookies. You can also choose not to sandwich yours, in which case, drizzle the tops with chocolate (over your wax paper).

  • Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F (190°C) (gas mark 5).  Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.
  • Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.
  • To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well.Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75 mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets.
  • While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes), or stovetop (in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water, being sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl).
  • Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean).
  • Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate. I did not sandwich the cookies, I just added the chocolate over the cookie to form a hash pattern.

Hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I enjoyed making and eating them.

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Strawberry Panna Cotta

October 6, 2010 in Panna Cotta, Strawberry

Healthier Version of the Panna Cotta

Well I started the blog cos I relax by cooking / baking. Since the past few days have been a little stressful, cooking and trying out new recipes is the way I chose to relax. So I ended up making the Strawberry Panna Cotta tonight. Well it’s definitely the less sinful version than the chocolate one I made before and Amit & I both love the strawberries and cream combination…

Ingredients:

  1. 1 cup Vanilla Yogurt. (I used Lucerne light yogurt)
  2. 1 cup Whipping Cream
  3. 1/2 cup powdered Sugar
  4. 200 grams Strawberries (about 12-15)
  5. 1 teaspoon Gelatin
  6. 1/4 cup milk
  7. Strawberries for garnish
  8. Blueberries for garnish

Directions:

  • Heat the milk in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. You want to bring the milk to room temperature.
  • Sprinkle the gelatin on the milk and set it aside.
  • Whip the yogurt to a smooth consistency.
  • Add the sugar to the curd and whip it to a smooth consistency.
  • Hull and cut the strawberries into quarters.
  • Blend the strawberries with the curd and sugar mixture to a smooth consistency.
  • Heat the whipping cream over a medium heat till it starts to boil.
  • Remove from flame and add the milk and gelatin to it. Stir till the gelatin has dissolved completely.
  • Add this to the strawberry and curd mixture and blend.
  • Pour this into 6 desserts bowls and leave in the refrigerator overnight.
  • Before serving garnish with some chopped strawberries and blueberries.

This entire recipe took approximately 30 mins to complete including prep time (+ setting time). This recipe has also been adapted from the ‘Passionateaboutbaking’ blog. The original recipe can be accessed at http://www.passionateaboutbaking.com/2009/03/strawberry-yogurt-pannacotta.html. The changes I made to the recipe was using a normal blender versus an immersion blender and I used vanilla curd instead of hung curd.

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Milk Chocolate Panna Cotta

October 5, 2010 in Desserts, Recipes

Panna Cotta or Mousse, who cares, it’s yummmmm

A few weeks back I accompanied a friend while she went on her wedding dress shopping. It was an exhausting evening for her what with all the dresses she got in and out of. So we decided to get some dinner before we headed back home. And we landed up at Macaroni Grill. The side of bread and the entrees we ordered there were awesome. We then debated on whether or not to order a dessert and then we ended up ordering one each. I ordered the Panna Cotta with fresh Berries and it was definitely one of the BEST DESSERTS I have ever eaten at a restaurant.

Ever since I have been thinking of and contemplating making Panna Cotta at home. Then a couple of weeks back when I went to the store to pick up the ingredients for the Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup with fresh basil, I picked up the ingredients to make some Panna Cotta at home.

I think this would be an appropriate place to mention a blog I really love. I have made a few of the dishes following the recipes on the blog and they turned out to be amazingly good. The blog is http://www.passionateaboutbaking.com/ and I have adapted my panna cotta recipe from there.

The ingredients listed below serves 6-8 persons.

Ingredients:

  1. 3 cups whipping cream
  2. 3 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
  3. 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
  4. 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Nestle hot chocolate powder)
  5. 200-250 grams milk chocolate chips

Directions:

  • Measure 3/4 cup of the whipping cream. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cream and set aside.
  • Mix the sugar and cocoa powder in a sauce pan and add the 2 1/4 cups of whipping cream.
  • Heat the mixture over medium heat to a simmer.
  • Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the chocolate chips and stir to dissolve the chips.
  • Heat the saucepan on a low flame to dissolve the chocolate to a smooth consistency.
  • Add the softened gelatin and cream mixture to the saucepan and make sure the heat is on low as you do not want to heat the mixture to a simmer.
  • Once the gelatin has completely dissolved remove the saucepan from the heat. Use a fine strainer and strain the mixture into a big bowl.
  • Transfer the Panna Cotta into smaller individual serving bowls.
  • Leave the Panna Cotta in the refrigerator for 3 hours or till it sets. (I left it in the refrigerator overnight)

The entire recipe from prep to refrigerating takes about 15-20 minutes. This wasn’t like the Panna Cotta I ate at Macaroni Grill but it was absolutely delicious. But I must warn you this is not for the health conscious foodie. This is one of those sins you allow yourself to indulge in once in a long long while.

The original recipe can be found at http://www.passionateaboutbaking.com/2008/04/dark-chocolate-panna-cotta-its-all-about-the-kidz-in-us.html. I adapted it based on some of  the ingredients I already had at home. I replaced the dark chocolate with milk chocolate and instead of using authentic cocoa powder, I used the hot chocolate powder.

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