PANNA COTTA

By HeatherS

Instead of the white or brown sugar, you may use honey or maple syrup. One of my favourite savoury flavourings for panna cotta is a bit of minced rosemary. Its woodsy flavour is perfectly enhanced by the vanilla. Spiced rum, Grand Marnier, nutmeg and saffron are all tasty too.

Ingredients

• 4 cups (1 L) of milk
• 1 cup (250 ml) of white or brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of your favourite spice or herb or a splash of your favourite liqueur
• 2 packages unflavoured gelatin (about 2% teaspoons/12 mL each)

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 140mins

Preparation

Step 1

Pour almost all of the milk into a small saucepot and gently warm it over medium heat. Stir in the sugar, vanilla and spices or liqueur. Continue heating until the mixture just begins to simmer.

Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatin powder over the remaining milk. Let it rest for a minute or two to allow the gelatin to begin to rehydrate and absorb moisture. Pour in the hot milk mixture and stir until the gelatin is completely melted and dissolves into the mixture.

Divide the mixture evenly among 6 small dessert moulds. To help the panna cottas release easily, lightly oil the moulds before filling them. (Have fun with the moulds. Look around the house: teacups and ramekins work best but even Styrofoam and plastic cups trimmed to size work well too.)

Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight. To release the panna cotta from its mould, gently loosen the edges, cover with a small plate, then flip over. Don't worry about leftovers! There won't be any.