I would have never dreamed of making Italian delicacy panna cotta until a friend of mine made it as a dessert for New Year's eve. So, I thought. This ought to be doable. The truth is this white, sweet and pearly délice is as surprisingly simple as it is quick to make. Here I used almond milk which gives the panna cotta a delectable almond flavour. Paired with a fresh and slightly acidic fruit salad, you are in for an intensely pleasurable experience.
Almond and vanilla panna cotta
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Recipe by: Anne-Laure at Tasty Diaries, inspired by various French blogs; WInter fruit salad by my friend Sandrine's inspired mum Busy:15 min, Total prep time: At least 3 hours (includes chilling time) Serves: 5 |
Place the cream, almond milk, sugar, almond extract and vanilla paste together in a saucepan. Slice the vanilla pod lengthways and toss both half-pods into the cream mixture. Simmer for about 5 minutes until all the sugar has melted then turn off the heat and let the vanilla infuse for 3-4 more minutes. Scrape the seeds off the vanilla pods with a small knife and toss the seeds back into the liquid. Discard the half pods.
Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatin over 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes or until spongy. Bring a saucepan filled with 4-5 cm water to the boil and take off the heat. Once the gelatin has swollen, place the bowl in the middle of the saucepan with freshly boiled water (make sure the hot water does not get inside the gelatine bowl, its purpose is only to warm the bowl up) and stir the gelatine until it dissolves. Never boil it, it can become stringy and won't set as well. Once it has fully dissolved, stir the gelatine into the hot cream mixture. Both mixtures should roughly be a similar temperature.
Lightly oil 4 to 5 individual ramequins with neutral oil, such as sunflower oil. Pour the panna cotta into each mould and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours. To unmould, slide a thin knife between the panna cottas and the inside of the moulds and turn over. I quite like using a silicone muffin tray instead of moulds. Once set, the panna cottas stick well enough to their cavities not to fall when the mould is turned over. You then only need to gently push them out one by one by pressing on the back of each cavity. For a quicker solution you can also serve the panna cottas in their mould, in that case use glass ramequins or cocktail glasses.
Vegetarian (agar flakes) version:
Place all the ingredients together in a saucepan, finishing with the agar flakes Slice the vanilla pod lengthways and toss both half-pods into the cream mixture.
Let the flakes stand for 10 minutes in the liquid before heating it up. This is important as this will help the flakes dissolve. Then simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring at regular intervals until all agar flakes have melted. Scrape the seeds off the vanilla pods with a small knife and toss the seeds back into the liquid. Discard the half pods.
Rinse 5 individual moulds in cold water. Do not dry them, this will facilitate the unmoulding. Pour the panna cotta into each mould and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. See my notes above on unmoulding and using a silicone muffin tray.
Fruit salad
Serve the panna cottas with a fresh fruit salad.
Winter option (pictured): peel and half the segments off a pink grapefruit (make sure to take the skins off, see this recipe for an easy and quick way to do this), peel and chop two kiwis and peel and half ten lychees. Mix and chill until serving.
Summer option: mix strawberries, raspberries and blueberries and chill until serving.
Non-vegetarian (gelatine) version:
Place the cream, almond milk, sugar, almond extract and vanilla paste together in a saucepan. Slice the vanilla pod lengthways and toss both half-pods into the cream mixture. Simmer for about 5 minutes until all the sugar has melted then turn off the heat and let the vanilla infuse for 3-4 more minutes. Scrape the seeds off the vanilla pods with a small knife and toss the seeds back into the liquid. Discard the half pods.
Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatin over 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes or until spongy. Bring a saucepan filled with 4-5 cm water to the boil and take off the heat. Once the gelatin has swollen, place the bowl in the middle of the saucepan with freshly boiled water (make sure the hot water does not get inside the gelatine bowl, its purpose is only to warm the bowl up) and stir the gelatine until it dissolves. Never boil it, it can become stringy and won’t set as well. Once it has fully dissolved, stir the gelatine into the hot cream mixture. Both mixtures should roughly be a similar temperature.
Lightly oil 4 to 5 individual ramequins with neutral oil, such as sunflower oil. Pour the panna cotta into each mould and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours. To unmould, slide a thin knife between the panna cottas and the inside of the moulds and turn over. I quite like using a silicone muffin tray instead of moulds. Once set, the panna cottas stick well enough to their cavities not to fall when the mould is turned over. You then only need to gently push them out one by one by pressing on the back of each cavity. For a quicker solution you can also serve the panna cottas in their mould, in that case use glass ramequins or cocktail glasses.
Vegetarian (agar flakes) version:
Place all the ingredients together in a saucepan, finishing with the agar flakes Slice the vanilla pod lengthways and toss both half-pods into the cream mixture.
Let the flakes stand for 10 minutes in the liquid before heating it up. This is important as this will help the flakes dissolve. Then simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring at regular intervals until all agar flakes have melted. Scrape the seeds off the vanilla pods with a small knife and toss the seeds back into the liquid. Discard the half pods.
Rinse 5 individual moulds in cold water. Do not dry them, this will facilitate the unmoulding. Pour the panna cotta into each mould and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. See my notes above on unmoulding and using a silicone muffin tray.
Fruit salad
Serve the panna cottas with a fresh fruit salad.
Winter option (pictured): peel and half the segments off a pink grapefruit (make sure to take the skins off, see this recipe for an easy and quick way to do this), peel and chop two kiwis and peel and half ten lychees. Mix and chill until serving.
Summer option: mix strawberries, raspberries and blueberries and chill until serving.
Gelatine is made out of animal bones and cartilages so I included a vegetarian panna cotta version using agar flakes (also called agar-agar). Agar-agar is a tasteless gelling agent based on algae and widely used in Asian sweets. You will find it in larger supermarkets and health and Asian shops. In addition to being plant-based, agar-agar has a number of advantages over gelatine. It sets much faster (one hour is enough) and makes panna cottas that are easier to unmould. Note that agar-agar is also available in powder form, although the flake form appears to be more widely available in the UK. If using agar powder, use 2 teaspoons instead of 2 tablespoons.
For a more traditional panna cotta, use only cream or for a lighter version, half cream, half milk. If you like the taste of coconut, you may also use coconut milk instead of almond milk.
You can also serve panna cotta with fresh coulis, try whizzed mango or a rasbperry coulis made from crushed raspberries, a few drops of lemon juice and a bit of icing sugar.
For a more traditional panna cotta, use only cream or for a lighter version, half cream, half milk. If you like the taste of coconut, you may also use coconut milk instead of almond milk.
You can also serve panna cotta with fresh coulis, try whizzed mango or a rasbperry coulis made from crushed raspberries, a few drops of lemon juice and a bit of icing sugar.
Ingredients
Panna cotta:
30 cL whipping cream
30 cL almond milk
1 vanilla pod or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste
60 g sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatine, or for a vegetarian option, 2 tablespoons agar flakes
3 drops almond extract
Fruit salad:
In the winter: 2 kiwis, 1 pink grapefruit and 10 lychees
In the summer: mix of red berries
Panna cotta:
30 cL whipping cream
30 cL almond milk
1 vanilla pod or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste
60 g sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatine, or for a vegetarian option, 2 tablespoons agar flakes
3 drops almond extract
Fruit salad:
In the winter: 2 kiwis, 1 pink grapefruit and 10 lychees
In the summer: mix of red berries
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