Dessert to Impress - Panna Cotta ~ 意式香草奶凍

For tea time, I re-used the jars from Miette Pâtisserie & Confiserie.

For party, I like to use the glasses.

Do you want to impress that special someone when cooking for two? Do you want to wow your guests at your next house party? This popular Italian dessert calls panna cotta will do just that. I have received numerous compliments. This dessert is easy for people in all levels of culinary skills. It was a piece of cake even for an amateur baker/cook like me. It took 4 steps to make: boil, stir, pour and freeze. It doesn’t get easier than that. Trust me, 99% of people who attempted turn out to be a huge success. If you are that 1% who failed, please drop me some lines or send me a picture of your final product.

I made this to replace the birthday cake. I was told not to bring anything that looks like a cake to a restaurant for a friend’s birthday because they will charge a service fee. Not that I care for the service fee but I knew the place does not serve good desserts. I believe firmly that everyone should be treated to something sweet on their birthday. If I can’t bring in a cake, I will make other scrumptious sweets then. I flipped through shelves of cook books and found a mouth watering mango mousse cup featured in Five Star Cakes & Desserts by Tony Wong. This dessert cup is made with layers of panna cotta, mango cube, mango mousse and top off with mango sauce and a sprig of mint. I have never tasted panna cotta. I thought “something different”. However, it seem too time consuming although it looks delicious. Then there is a side note saying that panna cotta is delicious eaten by itself. A light bulb lighted up. Since I need to whip this in an hour (literally), I need to make it as simple as possible. Mango was not in season so I substitute with strawberries (cheaper, widely available and it cuts the calories in half too.). If you don’t like either mango or strawberry, you can substitute with your favorite fruits. Passion fruit, raspberry, cherry, peach, plum, the choices are endless. Create your own combination!

Serves 6 (6oz glasses)

Panna Cotta

150g* whipping cream
50g milk
33g granulated sugar
¼ vanilla pod (split and seeds scraped)
3g leaf gelatine (I sub this with Knox original gelatine.)
5g Amaretto (Italian almond liqueur available in BevMo.)

Strawberry Sauce

100g strawberry puree (Put 15 strawberries in the food processor, grind. Strain.)
2g leaf gelatine (I sub this with 2g Knox original gelatine.)
25g granulated sugar

Some mints and diced strawberries for presentation
* g = gram

Bring whipping cream, milk, sugar and vanilla pod (and seeds) to boil. Stir occasionally.

Remove from heat. Add pre-soaked leaf gelatine or powder gelatine. Stir until gelatine completely melted.

Strain. Discard vanilla pod. Let cool to room temperature. Pour in the Amaretto. Stir well.

Pour mixture into glasses until 2/3 full. Put in refrigerator for 15 minutes or until set. Prepare strawberry sauce.

Heat strawberry puree and sugar until sugar completely dissolved. Add pre-soaked leaf gelatine or powder gelatine. Stir well until gelatine completely melted.

Take panna cotta out from the fridge. It should be set by now. Spoon a layer of strawberry sauce on top of panna cotta. Refrigerate again.

Decorate with diced strawberries and mint before serving. You may also add in other diced fruits to make an impressive presentation.

Note: I like to add 2tbs spoon of cold water to the powder gelatine before adding to the mixture. I found that it helps dissolve faster.


意式香草奶凍

奶漿
淡忌廉/鮮奶油 150克
牛奶 50克
砂糖 33克
魚膠片/明膠片 3克(或魚膠粉)
雲呢拿條 (開半刮籽) ¼條
Amaretto 酒(杏仁酒) 5克

士多啤梨醬/草莓醬
*士多啤梨/草莓 puree 100克
魚膠片/明膠片 2克(或魚膠粉2克)
砂糖 25克

裝飾用士多啤梨/草莓， 薄荷 隨意

*将12-15粒士多啤梨/草莓洗淨去蒂，攪拌機攪一分鐘，用篩格去粗粒做成puree/草莓泥。

製作奶漿。把牛奶、鮮奶油、砂糖、雲呢拿條和籽混合裝進小鍋裡，開中火煮沸後熄火。加入泡軟(擠掉水分)的明膠片，攪拌至融化混合。

將奶漿篩過後，稍微放涼。接著加入 Amaretto 酒，攪拌均勻。然後倒進漂亮的杯子中, 約2/3 滿﹐放進冰箱冷凍至凝固(約15分鐘) 。

製作草莓醬。草莓泥與砂糖一同放進小鍋裡﹐加溫至砂糖完全溶解。加入泡軟(擠掉水分)的明膠片，攪拌至融化混合。

將草莓醬倒在己凝固的奶凍上, 再放進冰箱冷凍至凝固(約10分鐘) 。即成。食用時把黑莓(也可以用草莓或覆盆子) 及薄荷裝飾在上方之後，就可以上桌啦 ^U^