Sweet Panna Delight!

I had intended to make this two separate blogs, but as my typing ability is severely limited at present (after my front door slammed shut on my right hand Monday morning), I will take the easy way out and merge this into one mega-sweet blog.

BTW - If you are a diabetic stock up on your insulin before reading on!

Raspberry & Vanilla Panna Cotta

So this picture doesn't do it justice, as this is what it looked like after 2/3rds of it had been eaten! It wasn't wonky when I served it to, you know, human beings!

A friend whom I adore, and a new friend I was seeking to impress, came to dinner Saturday night.

The main course was seafood tagine, which was just so amazingly simple & delicious: a combination of barramundi, calamari, prawns, roasted red capsicums & tomatoes. Throw in lots of cumin, a few handfuls of fresh coriander, and cook. It turned out better than I could have hoped.

It also enabled me to put to good use the amazing tagine my thoughtful FM & said adored friend gave me for my birthday.

For dessert, I decided to make something I had done before, but with a twist.

This recipe is from the Donna Hay Modern Classics 2 cookbook. It is actually a Peach & Vanilla Panna Cotta recipe, but as peaches aren't yet in season, and the FM fancies anything raspberry,

I thought I'd try it this way.

In the recipe you are meant to make a sugar water, poach the peaches, slip them of their skins, and add gelatine to the poaching liquid to make the jelly.

In my version, I steeped about 500g the frozen berries in a bottle (750ml) of sparkling rose.

I then made the sugar water (1.5 cups water w/ .5 cup sugar), and using a slotted spoon put 4/5ths of the raspberries into the sugar water. They go quite mushy, but I think this just adds to the intensity of the flavour. Add enough gelatine to set the liquid (1tsp should set 250ml), and then toss the reserved berries over the base of the dish, before pouring over the gelatine mix.

Refrigerate until set (per above).

(With the sparling rose mix used to steep the berries, pour it, and a few of the berries, into a saucepan & reduce by half. It has the most vibrant & intense flavour, and is great to pour over ice-cream, yoghurt, other berries, to dip madelines into. I also once added to an ice-cream I was making as it was churning to make an amazing raspberry swirl . . . delish!).

Next make the Panna Cotta, which really couldn't be simpler:

3 & 3/4 cups of cream , 1 cup of icing sugar & 1 tsp vanilla extract into a saucepan over med heat (except I used vanilla paste, as I like the look of the vanilla seeds through the cotta). Stir to combine, and then gelatine (again 1tbs per 250ml, softened in cold water). Add the gelatine & the water used to soften it, simmering over a low heat for 4 mins until dissolved.

Cool to room temperature, and then pour on top of the set raspberry jelly.

You want to refrigerate this for at least 6 hours, or overnight. Cover with clingwrap, so it doesn't take on the smell of anything else in the fridge as it sets.

JUST BEFORE SERVING, dip the pan into warm water, and upend. Slice & serve immediately.

If you do this too long before serving, it will start lose its shape a a little (per the top photo, which was about 24 hours old).

Turkish Delight Cupcakes

(and hello to my facebook friends!)

This recipe is the best basic cupcake recipe I have found, and I have adapted it into many different variations.

It is based on one I found in the April 2009 edition of Australian Gourmet Traveller.

For the Cakes:

125g softened butter; 1 cup caster sugar; 1 tsp vanilla extract (or paste); 2 eggs; 1.5 cups plain flour; .5 tsp baking powder; .5 cup milk

For the Icing: 240g icing sugar; 2 tsp rosewater; turkish delight to decorate.

Heat the oven to 170'C. Beat the butter, sugar & vanilla until light & fluffy (2-3 mins). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each one. Sift over the flour & baking powder, and stir to combine. Add the milk, stirring again to combine. Spoon into patty cases, smooth tops, and bake for 10 - 15 mins. Cool on a rack.

Combine the icing sugar, rose water & mix together. I find that the consistency is too stiff to ice with, so I add some room-temp water a VERY SMALL AMOUNT at a time, until I get the desired consistency (a thick-ish drizzle).

Ice the cup cakes, and top with a bit of the turkish delight.

Some of the variations I have used include using rum instead of rosewater; toast some shredded coconut, and as you ice each one, roll the top in coconut. Don't wait until you've iced them all to do this, as you need the icing to be quite wet for the coconut to stick, and if sets very quickly.

I have also used rose petals instead of turkish delight, for a baby shower.

I have also used baileys, and rolled the cake in smashed up honeycomb for a more decadent version!

Always the same amount of icing sugar (240g); just add as much liquid as you need. If you pour in too much, just add more icing sugar to balance it back.

A Big Thank You to the 5 people who are now my followers! Yay!

Let me know if you want the tagine recipe: it is very easy, and you could do it in a casserole dish, or even a baking dish with some alfoil.

A.

x

This is the rum & toasted coconut version; in the upper right of the photo is the two-tied chocolate & praline birthday cake I also made for the day.