Food & Wine
Easy panna cotta
It has to be a match made in heaven: chilled, creamy panna cotta, redolent with vanilla, drizzled with warmed, luscious, creamy milk chocolate sauce and served with sweet but acidic raspberries. It is, in fact, a dessert fit for a goddess.
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
- 125ml (1/2 cup) milk
- 16g (2 tbsp) gelatine powder
- 375ml (11/2 cups) milk
- 500ml (2 cups) cream
- 100g (1/2 cup less 1 tbsp) castor sugar
- 1 vanilla pod (split in half lengthwise)
- Fresh raspberries, to serve.
Milk chocolate sauce
- 125ml (1/2 cup) cream
- 125g milk chocolate (tablet), chopped
Method:
- Very lightly grease eight dariole moulds or souffle dishes with baking spray or a flavourless oil such as canola. The volume of the plastic dariole moulds I use is 125ml (1/2 cup).
- Place first measure of milk into a small bowl and sprinkle with gelatine. Leave for 3-4 mins or until gelatine softens and mixture is sponge-like.
- Pour second measure of milk and cream into a heavy-based saucepan set over a medium heat. Add castor sugar and vanilla pod, and stir until sugar has dissolved.
- Bring mixture to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 30 seconds. Add softened gelatine and stir until gelatine has dissolved. Cool mixture.
- Strain through a fine sieve to remove vanilla pod. (Reserve pod for another use.) Stir mixture and pour into prepared moulds.
- Place panna cotta into refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.
- To turn panna cotta out, gently move edges away from sides of mould to release vacuum. Shake mould once or twice and tip panna cotta on to a plate. (Try to avoid dipping panna cotta dishes into hot water as this will melt the dessert unnecessarily.)
- To make the chocolate sauce, pour cream into a small, heavy-based saucepan set over medium heat and bring to just below boiling.
- Remove from heat, add chocolate and stir until smooth. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator to warm later.
- To warm sauce, gently heat over a double boiler (i.e. a tight-fitting bowl or pot set in a pot of simmering water), stirring as it warms.
- Drizzle sauce over panna cotta and serve.
Written by Ruth Pretty. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz. Image credit: Phil Reid/Fairfax NZ.