Last weekend, I invited a couple of friends over for a last minute dinner. With my travels, I don’t get much time to entertain any more so spur of the moment plans are easier.
I wasn’t sure I would make a dessert but then thought of Panna Cotta since it’s a fairly easy and quick dessert to make. As I started pulling out the ingredients, I decided to put a twist on the classic recipe. The end result was a huge success and got rave reviews from my guests and my son, who ate it a day later. I hope you will try and make this one and let me know how it turns out in comments below.
Orange-Cardamom Panna Cotta
A light and refreshing dessert that requires no baking.
Ingredients
2 Cups Heavy Cream 1 Cup Coconut Milk 1/3 Cup Sugar Grated Zest of 1 Orange Juice of 1 Orange 1 Tbsp unflavored Gelatin 6-8 pods Cardamom – slightly smashed to open 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder 1 tsp Vanilla
Directions
In a heavy bottom sauce pan, heat the heavy cream, coconut milk and sugar until just hot (do not bring to a boil) stirring often. Add orange zest and cardamom pods and allow to steep for about 20-30 minutes. In a small heat proof pan, add the juice from the orange and sprinkle the gelatin evenly over it. Allow to stand for 1 to 2 minutes. Heat the pan over a low flame constantly moving the liquid until the gelatin has melted. Do not allow to boil or overheat. Set aside. Reheat the cream mixture on medium high to just under a boil stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add the gelatin mixture to the cream and stir well to combine. Strain into a large measuring cup through a fine mesh sieve to remove the pods and zest. Add cardamom powder and vanilla and stir well. Divide evenly into 8 ramekins and chill for at least 4 hours. When ready to serve, you can certainly eat right out of the ramekin but for a great presentation and to show the flecks of orange & cardamon as in the above photo, place each ramekin into a larger bowl of hot water for 30-45 seconds. Invert onto a serving plate to un-mold the Panna Cotta.
Enjoy!!
The Persnickety Palate 