Skip to main content

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 !

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Cotton sponge cake with strawberries and cream cheese frosting

My kids had a birthday to celebrate so I made the cakes and they decorated. I used to do this when my children were small, set up a table for them to decorate cookies or gingerbread houses, even had parties like this, and to this day, they like assembling treats and are good cooks. Here's the batter recipe I often use which you can find in my other recipes (mocha sponge, apple cider cake...) : Cotton sponge cake recipe : 4 eggs, separated 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar 1-1/4 cup (180 g) cake flour 3/4 cup (150 g) confectioner's sugar 1/4 cup cider (60 g) (French kind, or 4.5% alcohol) or beer or carbonated water 1/4 cup (60 g) sour cream (or thick cream) 1/4 cup (60 g) milk (as needed) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt Preheat oven to 180° F / 350° C.  Line pan with parchment paper.  I used a 7" spring-form pan and a small fluted brioche mold. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  Add granulated sugar a little at a time and continue...

Fluffiest cinnamon rolls, with yogurt cream frosting

I must say this is the most wonderful cinnamon rolls dough I've discovered to date. Light, fluffy, delicious, what more could you ask for?  I filled half the dough with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts, while the other half was filled with some homemade strawberry jam. Here is the recipe for the dough, inspired by Foodess.com, which has the best explanation for the dough, go to the website for more info.  I will always use this dough to make these buns from now on. 240 ml warm milk 2 large eggs 570 g all-purpose flour 100 g sugar 2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 115 g unsalted butter (softened) Cinnamon filling 200 g brown sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 115 g softened butter 1/2 cup nuts (cashews, walnuts, almonds...) Strawberry jam 12-15 strawberries 50 g sugar (or more if you like it sweeter) 1 tablespoon of cornstarch Cut strawberries in 1/4 or 1/8ths and simmer with the sugar until softened, about 3-5 minutes.  Add a spoonful of this in a cup with the ...

Strawberry & raspberry amaretti cheesecake

Is there such a thing as baking too many cheesecakes?  Because, really, cheesecakes take time to master.  And just when you think you've got it down, you mess one up because there is a "tour de main" or trick to making them and it's all about... jiggliness!  It's mastering the right cooking time, because all our ovens are different, the right cream cheese, as they're different in every country, the right amount of setting ingredient (flour or cornstarch...), etc. I've made many versions because there are no-bake varieties (these are the most tricky in my opinion because of the gelatin or setting factor) or the oven-baked kinds (with or without a water bath).  The following version is the most straightforward and fuss-less variety I've encountered, I made this cheesecake readily with ingredients I had at home. Here is what I used :  Cookie crust :  150 g or 1 cup mix of butter cookies and amaretti,  30 g sugar,  50 g butter,  1/4 teaspoon...