Oh how to describe this italian dessert. Creamy, chocolatey, light, jiggly and melts in your mouth. Simple to make yet perfectly delicious. Dressed with a passionfruit syrup that compliments the panna cotta flavours to a t and you can even choose to ramp this flavour sensation up by infusing the syrup with a sweet dessert wine - wow... takes this to the next level.
You have to give this recipe a go – you can't fail with my step by step easy breakdown of how to cook these. I suggest that with this recipe you buy yourself a 200 - 250ml plus see through plastic or glass measuring cup, the ones that have a measuring guide in mls on the outside - super cheap. You won't need any fancy machines to make these panna cottas, there aren't many ingredients, They are gluten free, and you can make them dairy free and vegan. Dairy free ingredients are listed in this episode and for vegans, the ingredients and method is a bit different so I will have this is another episode. Panna Cottas can be made a few days before you need them.. You will need 40 mins available plus setting time in the fridge. This recipe makes 6 panna cottas.
If you don't need these detailed instructions and are ready to cook
then scroll down to the bottom of the page for just the recipe.
1) Ok – 1st things 1st - ingredients reconnaissance. Just eyeball in your fridge and pantry to see if you have these ingredients and enough of it. Don't get them out yet - we are in the planning phase.
So do you have
· 300mls thickened cream or for dairy free 300mls coconut cream
· 3/4 cup milk - or for dairy free, coconut milk
· 150g white chocolate - for the best quality chocolate make sure that cocoa butter is listed in the ingredients on the back of the pack. I use Cadbury Dream White chocolate.
or 150g dairy free white chocolate - I recommend Sweet William white chocolate.
· 3 1/2 dessert spoons of caster sugar
· 2 teaspoons gelatine powder
· 2 dessert spoons water
and for your passionfruit syrup do you have
· 1/2 cup passionfruit pulp which is approximately 6 medium sized passionfruit or a store bought can (170g) of passionfruit pulp in syrup
· 3 dessert spoons caster sugar
· 1 cup of dessert wine eg: sauternes (optional)
If you don't have all of these ingredients – write the missing ingredient on your list for your next shop and make panna cotta next weekend. There is no point racing to the supermarket with your messy hair, your trackie daks and ugg boots on over your jarmies just to get some white chocolate – it’s too stressful – why bother.
2) Next - Clear the decks and feed the cat – you can’t begin until you have your house in order. What I mean by that is I have found I always make mistakes when I get distracted or work in a mess. Ok so maybe this easy recipe for panna cotta won’t be a game changer but as you start to build on your cooking skills, getting your house in order is so important to successful and happy baking.
· feed the pets
· make a cuppa
· empty the dishwasher (or load it if you couldn’t be bothered the night before)
· if you have little ones, change their nappy and feed them
· check your mobile and emails if you need to
· make room on your kitchen bench – I learnt the hard way by losing a cake over the edge :( all because I refused to move the fruit bowl
· wipe down the kitchen bench
· place current dishcloth and tea towel in laundry and grab a fresh set
· wash your hands
3) Now - Grab all your ingredients and place them on the kitchen bench –
· thickened cream or coconut cream
· milk or coconut milk
. white chocolate or dairy free white chocolate
· caster sugar
· gelatine powder
. a tap to get your water
and for your passionfruit syrup you need to get out
· caster sugar - which you already have on your bench
· passionfruits - about 6 of them
· and a dessert wine such as a sauterne which is optional
alternatively you can substitute the 6 passionfruit for a can of passionfruit pulp in syrup
4) Next - grab all your equipment out to make the panna cottas
. a medium sized saucepan
· a wooden spoon
· a jug that has a spout
· a 200mls plus measuring cup that has a mls guide for you to measure against
· a small glass or cup
. a teaspoon
. a dessert spoon
. couple of sheets of paper towel
. 6 molds - teacups, glasses (not too narrow) or ramekins
. a lid, tray or any solid level surface that will fit your 6 molds. If you don't have room in your fridge you don't need this, it just makes it easier to transfer the liquid panna cottas to the fridge.
. you'll need some glad wrap
. and you made need some scissors to cut open your chocolate wrapping
5) A note about molds.
In the photo above you will see that I have used a muffin silicone mold - but I would not recommend this. This is because you need to invert these molds to release the panna cottas and it is very tricky while you tackle one with the other five being attached on the same silicone tray.
I have tested all sorts of molds you can find in your kitchen and they are all very suitable to use as your molds.
6) Okay so let's get going.
· pour your 300mls container of cream into the saucepan. Put your container in the bin if its empty or store correctly in the fridge, sealed and if it's coconut cream pour out the can and into a sealed plastic container and used within a few days.
· using your dessert spoon put 3 level dessert spoons of castor sugar into the saucepan. Leave dessert spoon on the bench.
· measure out 180mls of milk in your measuring cup with the guide on it. Make sure you get down level with the 180ml mark. Then pour this into the saucepan.
. If you need to use your scissors to open up your chocolate and break up your chocolate block up and work out the amount for 150g (the total weight will be on the front of the packet) Put this into the saucepan. Eat or wrap up the remaining chocolate and pop back in your pantry. Put your scissors away.
. now take your saucepan, wooden spoon and a piece of paper towel over to the stove top and turn the heat on to a medium heat. Start heating up the mixture in the saucepan while stirring with your wooden spoon until chocolate starts melting. Once your chocolate has almost melted, place your wooden spoon nearby on the paper towel. Turn the heat down to medium low.
. turn you tap on hot and grab your glass. When the water is hot place 2 dessert spoons
of hot water into the glass. Place dessert spoon on your bench.
. open your gelatin powder and using your teaspoon sprinkle 2 level teaspoons of gelatine powder over the top on the water. Start stirring and scrape down the sides where the gelatine powder has stuck to the glass. Keep on stirring and scraping down the gelatin mixture while your walk over to your stove top to check on your chocolate, sugar, cream and milk mixture. Place your gelatin mixture down beside the stovetop and pick up your wooden spoon. You need to saucepan mixture to be simmering - which is tiny air bubble around the edge of the saucepan and steam is being produced. If you have given it a good stir and after you stop it takes forever to get back to a simmer - turn your heat up a bit. If after a good stir big bubbles and steam start immediately then you need to quickly turn down the heat to low and remove the saucepan from the heat until you have your mixture at a simmering point again. Once simmering for about a minute, turn off your stovetop. Put down your wooden spoon on your paper towel and grab your glass of gelatine - give it one last stir - it should be a runny jelly consistency, pour this into your mixture with the help of your teaspoon. Place your glass and teaspoon down and stir the mixture with your wooden spoon for about 15 seconds to fully mix in the gelatine.
Place your glass and teaspoon in the sink and run some hot water in it to help reduce the gelatin sticking hard to your glass.
. have your jug with a spout ready and carefully pour your mixture into this. Place your saucepan and wooden spoon in the sink and your paper towel in the bin.
. have your six molds ready on your tray or anything solid that fits your 6 molds.
. pour your panna cotta liquid into your 6 molds. I start by filling each one half way and then each one three quarters full making sure that by the end of the liquid all six molds have all the same amount in them.
. place your pouring jug in the sink and your gelatine powder away.
Now tear off enough glad wrap and cover your 6 molds. You can either do this individually or if your molds are on a tray just cover the whole lot as one. Because the panna cotta is very hot, just roughly cover for now and securely cover them when they have cooled down a bit, say in about an hour. You want to keep out the air to stop skins forming on the surface and also stop odours in your fridge seeping into your panna cottas. Okay so now put your molds in the fridge and pop your glad wrap away.
These Panna Cottas need to set in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight.
7) So now we just have to make the passionfruit syrup
On your bench now you should only have
· caster sugar - which you already have on your bench
· passionfruits - about 6 of them or 1 can (170g) passionfruit pulp in syrup
· and a dessert wine such as a sauterne which is optional
You will also need to get out your equipment for this syrup
. a chopping board, serrated knife and a cup if using passionfruits
. another cup if using a dessert wine
. a dessert spoon
. a small saucepan and wooden spoon
. a small jug to transfer the syrup to so it can cool down
. you will also need a small bit of glad wrap to cover this cover this jug.
. so with your dessert spoon measure out and place in the saucepan 3 1/2 level dessert spoons of caster sugar. If you are using can passionfruit measure out 4 level dessert spoons of caster sugar. Put your caster sugar away.
. measure out 1 cup of dessert wine if you are using this and place in the saucepan and place this cup in the sink
. if using fresh passionfruit - slice in half your fruit on your cutting board and scoop out the pulp with your dessert spoon filling up the cup until it is half full. Place this pulp in the saucepan. Put your cutting board, knife and spoon in the sink.
. or if using can passionfruit pour this syrup into the saucepan, making sure you get all the seeds using your dessert spoon. Put the dessert spoon in the sink and the can in the bin.
. place your saucepan on the stove top and turn the heat on to medium- high heat. Start stirring to combine the ingredients and to dissolve the sugar. Let the syrup come to a boil (so large bubbles and steam being produced) then turn down the heat to low and stir until the syrup is simmering (small gentle bubbles) Stop stirring now and let the syrup reduce down by a third. This is typically about 10 minutes, but if you have a dessert wine added to it then it could take up to 20- 25 minutes. Check the consistency by stirring with your wooden spoon, there should be a slight delay of the syrup rejoining when you cut through it. You are not looking for a thick jelly type consistency more like a thick cordial
. now when your syrup is ready turn off your stove top and carefully pour it into your jug. Let this cool down for 15 minutes before covering with the glad wrap. Leave out on your bench until your panna cottas have set. Put your saucepan and spoon into the sink. You will now have heaps of time to do your dishes and get on with your day or evening.
8) Unmolding your panna cottas
Firstly these panna cottas don't need to be unmolded and are just as beautiful and tasty with the syrup placed on top.
If you would like to unmold them there is a little trick to getting perfectly domed and silky panna cottas. 1) Get out all your panna cottas and place them on the kitchen bench while you get things sorted 2) Put your kettle on and bring the water to a boil 3) Place a tea towel and a bowl large enough to hold one panna cotta mold 4) Separate out 6 serving plates 5) Pour your boiling water into the bowl - about 1" full 6) Pick up a panna cotta and place your middle 3 clean fingers on the surface of the panna cotta towards the edge and see if you can rotate it. Typically it will move a bit but is stuck on the bottom 7) Place this mold into the hot water and rotate the mold. Do this for 6 seconds. Remove from water and place on your tea towel. Then try to rotate panna cotta with your figures again. Keep repeating this until the panna cotta rotates 8) Place serving plate on top of mold and flip over to release the mold. Serve with passionfruit syrup.
9) Eat and Enjoy - Well done – you CAN cook…
NOTES
Simple Ingredient Changes to Suit Your Dietary Requirements
. Gluten free – this recipe is gluten free.
. Dairy Free – replace the milk with coconut milk, replace the cream with coconut cream and replace the white chocolate with dairy free white chocolate.
. Vegan Free - recipe in upcoming blog.
Make ahead
. Panna Cottas can be unmolded up to a day ahead to reduce the worry of doing this when your guests or family are patiently waiting. You just need to make sure that each individual panna cotta is securely covered and refrigerated. They may develop a slight toughness but this can be avoided by bringing them back to room temperature 30 minutes before required.
. Panna Cotta can be made up to 3 days ahead. Keep panna cotta covered in the refrigerator.
Passionfruit syrup can be made 1 day ahead, covered and at room temperature. Assemble before serving.
Storage Requirements
. Refrigerate - Panna Cotta and passionfruit syrup will keep covered and sealed for up to 5 days from making.
.Freezer – Panna Cotta can be covered, sealed and stored in a sealed container or freezer bag for up to to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before using. Passionfruit Syrup is best made the day of serving or one day ahead covered.
PANNA COTTA RECIPE
Prep time- 20 mins Cooking time – 10 mins Serves - 6
Ingredients
· 300mls thickened cream
· 3/4 cup (187mls) milk
· 150g white chocolate chopped
· 1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
· 2 teaspoons gelatine
· 1 tablespoon water
· 1/2 cup (125mls) passionfruit pulp (approx 6 passionfruits)
. 1 cup (250mls) dessert wine eg: sauternes (optional)
Method
. Grease 6 ramekins.
. In a small saucepan place cream, milk, white chocolate and 2 tablespoons of the caster sugar and stir over heat until smooth. Do not let it come to a boil.
. In a glass place the 1 tablespoon of hot water and sprinkle gelatin over the top of the water - stir to dissolve.
. Pour this gelatin mixture into the cream, sugar, milk and white chocolate and stir.
. Divide this mixture into 6 ramekins then cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or until set.
. To make syrup place the rest of the caster sugar, passionfruit and dessert wine in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, without stirring for about 10 minutes or 20 minutes if using a dessert wine or until the syrup has reduced by a third. Then cool.
. Turn out panna cotta onto individual serving plates and drizzle with syrup.