Saturday, January 25, 2014

Panna Deliciousness

After finally coming home from college and having the ability to truly cook again, my mom asked me to make some Panna Cotta.  Being the super sweet and chocolate lover I am, I cringed when i saw this recipe because I thought it was going to be horrible.  I'm not much of a savory or rich dessert lover, with a few rare exceptions (you can't help but love a rich cheesecake).  But after I tried this, I gotta say, I fell in love with it.  It's not too savory and still somehow has a hint of sweetness to it.  I can't wait to make these again!


Panna Cotta

Prep time: 15 minutes, plus chilling time
Cook time: 7 minutes
Yield: 2-4 servings (depending on your custard cup size)

·         1 tsp unflavored gelatin
·         ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
·         3 tbsp whole milk
·         2 tbsp sugar
·         2 tbsp honey
·         Blackberries, strawberries, or raspberries

1.       Separate ¼ cup cream into a small bowl. 
2.       In a heavy saucepan, combine the ½ cup and 2 tbsp of cream, milk, and sugar.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat while continuously stirring.  After reaching a boil, remove the mixture from the heat.
3.       Sprinkle the gelatin over the remaining ¼ cup of the cream.  Allow the mixture to stand for 1 minute to soften the gelatin.
4.       Add the gelatin mixture to the saucepan and whisk until the gelatin dissolves.
5.       Pour the mixture into 4 small custard cups and chill for at least 4 hours.

To serve, unmold the panna cotta onto serving plates.  Drizzle honey over each panna cotta and serve with the berries.

The amount you make will change depending on the size of the cup you use. Since the smallest thing I had was some mini ramekins, I had to make only 2 of them. Next time, I'm going to use silicone baking cups to put them in. I highly suggest this since putting them in the ramekins made the extraction kinda messy. You can also serve them without the berries or with different fruits or without honey. It's really delicious served topped with whipped cream as well. But me being me, mine is going to be topped with chocolate syrup and whipped cream. For you, serve with the toppings that you enjoy most.