I don’t care much for sweets but I do thoroughly enjoy a good panna cotta, creme brulee and cheesecake every so often. Notice a pattern here? Maybe it’s just the silky velvety consistency that I’m drawn too. It really doesn’t get smoother than panna cotta. Traditionally made with cream, milk, sugar and gelatin this time I went for panna cotta with a twist – the twist being creme fraiche (which I recently discovered when making a Valentine’s Day creme fraiche cheesecake). The result – a denser richer panna cotta than the standard but one that pairs perfectly with an airy strawberry mousse and strawberry puree. I’ve made panna cotta dozens of time since Daring Bakers first introduced me to it and I’ve noticed that going lighter on the gelatin and omitting honey produces the wibbly wobbly delicate panna cotta, whereas honey in place of almost all the sugar yields a slighter richer and less fragile dish, and the addition of the creme fraiche creates an even more solid dessert with a slightly tangy taste. Overall a delicious and sophisticated looking dessert.
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 1 teaspoon gelatin
- ⅓ cup creme fraiche
- 1 cup strawberry puree (about 8 ounces strawberries)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon gelatin
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup strawberry puree (about 3 ounces strawberries)
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- Panna Cotta: Add 1 tablespoon cold water to a bowl and evenly sprinkle 1 teaspoon gelatin over the water to allow it to bloom. In a pot combine heavy cream, sugar and vanilla, over medium heat bring to almost boiling, stirring occasionally, and remove from heat. Add cream mixture to the gelatin and whisk to combine. Strain the mixture to remove the vanilla bean solids and allow to cool to room temperature. Add the creme fraiche and whisk until smooth. Pour panna cotta evenly into 4 glasses or ramekins. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Strawberry Mousse: In a separate bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1 tablespoon cold water. In a pot heat 1 cup strawberry puree with 1 tablespoon sugar, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add the gelatin, whisking until dissolved – let cool to room temperature. In a separate bowl beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into the strawberry puree using a plastic/rubber spatula. Pour mousse evenly over the 4 panna cotta glasses, using a spoon to even it out. Refrigerate.
- Strawberry Puree: Add strawberry puree and sugar to a pot and over low heat stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature and evenly pour over the 4 panna cotta mousse glasses. Refrigerate. Serve tops with fresh strawberry slices.
Welcome to Avocado Pesto! Long time foodie and travel enthusiast, I started this blog to share my curious culinary efforts and kitchen endeavors. Here you'll find a smorgasbord of ethnic cuisines and hopefully a few humorous tales too.
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Reblogged this on A Single Serving and commented:
I love panna cotta–I’m going to be waiting for some really good strawberries to try this one. My mouth is watering in anticipation just reading this post!
Fabulous! Panna cotta is so good!
I love all sweets including this gorgeous panna cotta with mousse.. looks amazingly delicious.
Beautiful photo, delicious looking dessert.
Thanks! It really is one of my favorite desserts!
Wow! It looks so glamorous! Haha It’s so perfect!
Thanks! It’s truly one of my favorite desserts!
Wow! The timing is perfect! I’m going to try this for friday…
Lynda Bay recently posted..Robofusion Ice Cream at the Fispal Food Show Sau Paulo Brazil June 2012
Hope you enjoy it! I personally love panna cotta and think it’s the perfect summer dessert
Tried it last Saturday and it’s such a perfect summer treat. I made it together with my friends and we were all thrilled as we tasted it. It’s so perfect and so fresh. Thanks so much for that wonderful recipe…we really enjoyed it.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I love hearing from people who have tested out my recipes – it’s always great to hear that it came out well! There are so many different ways to make panna cotta so if you liked this one I would encourage you to test out more panna cotta recipes!
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