A super match made in heaven

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This Italian dessert can easily be termed the queen of sweet dishes. It’s smooth, elegant and understated and can be infused with any number of flavours.

Panna cotta in Italian literally means cooked cream and that’s exactly what it is. This deceptively easy dessert is made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing it with gelatine, and letting it cool until set.
From Italy, panna cotta is now eaten all over the world.
It is served with wild berries, caramel, chocolate sauce or fruit coulis. Along with the panna cotta recipe we also look at the recipe for a cherry coulis. This is ideal if you are planning to serve it with a vanilla panna cotta.

Orange Panna Cotta
You can use the basic recipe and experiment with other flavours like plain vanilla, strawberry, etc.

Ingredients
1 tbsp powdered gelatine
3 tbsp water
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
¾ cup caster sugar
6 wide strips of orange peel
Few drops vanilla essence
Chocolate curls and orange segments to garnish

Method
Place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatine over it. Let it soak for ten minutes.
Heat the milk and cream with the sugar, vanilla and orange peel over medium heat. Keep stirring till the sugar dissolves. Bring it to a gentle simmer but make sure that it does not boil. If the liquid boils, your panna cotta will be grainy and not smooth.
Once the sugar has dissolved remove from heat and add the gelatine. Stir to dissolve. If you find that the gelatine is not dissolving in a few minutes, return to heat and warm gently.
Pour into moulds or ramekins and refrigerate overnight.
To take it out of the mould, heat some water and dip the bottom of the mould in the warm water, hold for a few seconds then upturn on to the serving plate. The panna cotta should come out cleanly.
Garnish with the chocolate curls and orange segments and serve immediately.

Cherry Coulis
A coulis is nothing but the liquid one gets after boiling fruit with water and sugar and strained. It can be very refreshing as an addition to summer desserts.

Ingredients
2 cups cherries, pitted and halved
¼ cup water
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp lemon juice

Method
Place the cherries into a small sauce pan with water, sugar and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.
Cook until the cherries are soft, this will take about five minutes.
Remove from heat and puree. Strain through a muslin cloth, just let it drip through, do not push.
This will give a smooth, clear sauce. Cool and refrigerate. The coulis can be used for up to three days.
This can be served with panna cotta, summer puddings, custard, meringues etc.