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Panna cotta with fresh mango and strawberry jelly


With summer heat upon us, now is the time for refreshing no-bake recipes (I'm presently avoiding the oven) and panna cotta is a favorite in our home.  

What is panna cotta anyway? It's basically a cream jelly, in Italien "cooked cream". Originally from the northwestern Piedmont region of Italy, it has a delicate, light and smooth texture that is often combined with a berry reduction, or fresh berries at that. Strawberries being so delicious and ubiquitous this season, I went with a combination of two fruits for a bit of color, topped with a whipped cream and cigarette wafers I made a couple of weeks ago and froze, a near-fail turned into a nice complement to a number of desserts, so don't give up on fails!  

Here's the recipe :

Panna cotta
400 ml whipping cream, at least 30% fat content
400 ml of whole milk or almond milk
4 gelatin sheets
80 mg of sugar
2 packets of vanilla sugar (or 2 teaspoons of vanilla).

Mango jelly  (make after panna cotta has set)
1 mango, cut in chunks and puréed
1-1/2 gelatin sheet
2 tablespoons of sugar

Strawberry jelly (make after mango jelly has set)
20 strawberries, whole so they float in the jelly
1/2 cup of water
2 tablespoons of sugar
1-1/2 gelatin sheet

Immerse gelatin sheets in a recipient of cold water. In a saucepan, in medium heat, simmer, milk, cream, sugar and vanilla.  Once gently bubbling, squeeze water off gelatin sheet and add to milk mixture, stirring until dissolved, about 2 minutes.  Allow to cool.

Do the same with the 2 jellies, soften gelatin in cold water, simmer fruit in a saucepan with sugar, squeeze water off softened gelatin sheets and dissolve in warmed fruit.  Allow to cool.

Tips on the assembly :
Use clear recipients you may have on hand : ramekins, glasses, ice cream tumblers, preserve jars...
Find a method to maintain the recipient at a 45° angle in the refrigerator to set, I used an egg carton.  Prepare space in the refrigerator and try the angle with empty recipients to make sure they can hold this way for several hours.
Be patient, it can take a couple of days to make. Done in stages, each layer has to set before the next is  added. If you make the fruit jellies too early they will harden and set.
Most importantly, if you have hungry children who grab anything out of the fridge, label with a post-it "Do not eat yet! Love Mom / Dad / Patient person" or panna cotta may be gone before you've finished layers.  I am speaking from experience.

Once the panna cotta cream has cooked and is at room temperature, tip recipient 45° and fill 2/3 full with the cream.  Allow to set in 45° angle about 1-2 hours on kitchen counter, then refrigerate, preferably overnight.  

Once the panna cotta has set, make the mango jelly, allow to cool to room temperature.  Tip the glass filled with the hardened panna cotta 45° on the opposite side as previously angled, pour mango mixture and allow to set in the refrigerator, about 2-3 hours.  

Once the mango jelly has set, make the strawberry jelly, allow to cool to room temperature.  Fill the glass with strawberry jelly.  Allow to set in refrigerator, about 2-3 hours.  Top with whipped cream, fruit (or unfailed wafers).

Enjoy, everyone !

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