Raspberry Panna Cotta
Beat the Heat
In Australia, February is the hottest month of the year. Obviously, I’m inclined to keep the oven off as much as I can. Enter superb panna cotta recipes. What is a panna cotta? This cream based Italian dessert seems simple to make, the basic recipe includes cream, sugar, vanilla and gelatin. Seems easy enough, right? Well, sort of… A perfect panna cotta jiggles on the plate and melts in your mouth. So you need the perfect ratio. That’s what I’m here for today.
I will share with you my recipe for raspberry panna cotta today. I use raspberry puree and I add a touch of vanilla to the mix too. You can serve this in a lovely dessert glass or you can use dariole moulds to set them and turn them out. I like mine simple with a little sprinkling of pistachios, a couple of fresh raspberries and some dried rose petals give it a hint of another flavour. It’s light and enjoyable and won’t leave you feeling guilty for having dessert.
This is also a perfect dessert to serve on a Valentine’s Day dinner or any romantic dinner, really. You can make it the day before and just focus on flowers and the rest of dinner on the day. Add a chocolate heart to make it extra romantic!
Raspberry Panna Cotta
Serves 4
Ingredients
Instructions
- Lightly oil, 4 200mL panna cotta moulds or 4 nice dessert cups.
- Blend the raspberries and water until super smooth then push through a fine sieve. You should yield 150mL. Set aside.
- Bloom gelatin in cold water. In a saucepan, bring cream, vanilla and sugar to the boil. Turn off the heat and add 150mL of raspberry puree. Stir until incorporated.
- Squeeze off excess water from gelatin and add to cream mix. Stir until gelatin is dissolved. If you want to make the panna cotta more pink, add a drop of red food gel and stir until it blends together.
- Strain panna cotta using a fine sieve and divide between 4 moulds. Set in the fridge for at least 4 hours or longer if turning out.
- To serve: you can turn out the panna cotta onto a plate by breaking the seal between the panna cotta and the mould by pressing the panna cotta edge lightly with your finger until you create an air pocket. Then turn it over onto a plate. Otherwise, you can serve them in the cups you have set them in.
- Decorate with crushed pistachios and fresh raspberries.
