Pannacotta Power!
Okay, I did actually make the tart today, but I can’t for the life of me seem to take any decent pictures of it, so you’re going to have to wait till tomorrow when I’ve got some lovely natural light to help photograph it! And to make up for it in the meantime, I present to you a lovely and plain pannacotta (plain because I wasn’t about to go to the supermarket at 8pm on a Sunday night to get a punnet of fresh berries!).
I’m one of those people who enjoys food based partly on texture. I can’t eat a raw banana in it’s pure form because it’s gooeyness makes me feel like I’m choking, and jelly makes my mouth feel…odd. So then how come I can enjoy pannacotta? I’m not too sure either, something about the milky delicateness that seems to dissipate as soon as it lands on your tongue makes me happy and and my tastebuds swoon. The added bonus is that my family enjoys them, and outside of your standard pies and cakes there are very few Western desserts that they enjoy!
I decided to make these in my silicone mini muffin mould so that I’d be able to remove them with ease - I’ve never managed to cleanly remove them from the other containers that I’ve tried. And instead of a fresh berry coulis, I’ve topped it with a little strawberry jam mixed with a bit of hot water and a few drops of vanilla essence - good if you’re short on berries! These really are one of those devilishly simple desserts which are unbelievably impressive and rich and flavourful without drowning the palate in suger! If you haven’t tried these before, I urge you to give this recipe a try as it really can’t get any easier than this 
Pannacotta
(recipe from Chocolate & Zucchini)
Ingredients
1 cup thickened cream
1 cup milk
1/4 cup (scant) castor sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3g gelatin (I just used powdered gelatin)
1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a simmer whilst giving it the occasional stir. Let it cool for 5 minutes, and in the meantime rinse your ramekins or silicone moulds* in cold water. Spoon in the mixture then place in the refrigerator to set.
2. To unmould, stick a knife in hot water, then run it around the edge and turn out onto a plate. Serve with a little chocolate sauce or berry coulis and enjoy!
If you can get your hands on a punnet of strawberries, then give this coulis a try as it’s ridiculously easy and goes perfectly with the pannacotta
Ingredients for Strawberry Coulis
250g strawberries, hulled & quartered
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp water
Place all ingredients into a heavy bottomed saucepan, and boil till the fruit disintegrates. If you want it even smoother, let it cool then process it in a blender till lumpless.
Technorati Tags: pannacotta, cream, strawberry, dessert
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Comments
You’re making my eyes fight with my queasy head and tummy this morning! My gawd, if I didn’t feel the way I do, I’d go to my kitchen and make these right now!! I love the small size of them too, perfect for the sweet tooth when you don’t want to indulge in something heavy!
Ohhh and I can’t wait for the elusive tart post! 
Tanna - pannacotta takes about 10 minutes of conscious cooking time, and the resting time you don’t need to pay attention to so it’s definetely something worth trying
Kat - Thanks hon 
This is one of my favourite desserts, I’m yet to try messing with the recipe though, as the classic version keeps me happy!
Lis - LOL! I just read your post about your party I’d wait till you’re feeling better to try these, I know that whenever I’m hungover, dairy is the last thing that’ll make me feel better 
They sure look cute, but I reckon if you get any closer with the camera lens, you will have some serious cleaning to do!
Hi Neil - hehehe, though I hate my camera, it is at this point that I give it a hug and declare my love for my macro-focus function
I’m with Tanna - it’s a pannacotta paradise out there! I, too must give this intriguing dish a whirl soon!
Gilly - I think you should definetely give this a try (and take some of your beautiful photographs whilst your at it!), I’ll hope to see a blog post about your own try with this delicious dish!
Paz - You should definetely give this a shot - it’s one of the least troubling and quickest desserts that I know of!
Imogen - Thickened cream is basically whipping cream, it has more fat than thin cream but less than double cream and I *think* (I might be telling a big fat fib here) that is also has some kind of thickening agent so that it whips nicely.
http://www.abc.net.au/centralwest/stories/s296317.htm
Just found that link detailing the differences in types of cream I don’t know what varieties of cream you can get where you are, but if lieu of thickened cream, I’d just use thin cream as the lower fat content will prevent any burning or seperating that can come from using high-fat content creams
Hope you found this helpful!
Well, I think you are about the third one I’ve come across for pannacotta…I ‘m convinced I need to try this…now to fit it in the schedule.
Enjoyed your texture problem.