PANNA COTTA
Panna cotta is a traditional Italian dessert that encompasses cooked cream set with a minimal amount of gelatine. The final texture should be of a light and melt in your mouth set cream that is silky smooth to your palette.
This dessert is often served in a ramekin or a glass but in this recipe, we will remove the panna cotta from the mould and serve them as a plated dessert. As the set cream will start to lose its form out of the mould over time, it is important to only remove them when you are ready for plate up to serve immediately. An alternative would be to serve them in a glass.
FLAVOUR OF SUMMER
Coconut in dessert is a flavour that I reminisce alot with as I grew up in southeast Asia. It is an ingredients that you cannot escape and are used in alot of Malaysian sweet delicacies. This coconut passionfruit panna cotta dessert is beautiful for summer as it is light when paired with the sweet tartness of the passionfruit sorbet.
RECIPE
Yield: Recipe below makes 6 plated dessert
Components of the Passionfruit Coconut Panna Cotta Plated Dessert
PASSIONFRUIT SORBET
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Water | 120g |
Caster Sugar | 200g |
Glucose | 50g |
Passionfruit Puree | 500g |
PASSIONFRUIT SAUCE
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Passionfruit Puree | 75g |
Glucose | 25g |
Water | 25g |
Agar agar | 1g |
Passionfruit Pulp | 1 passionfruit |
COCONUT PANNA COTTA
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Cream | 200ml |
Milk | 100 ml |
Coconut Milk | 175ml |
Caster Sugar | 90g |
Gold Gelatine Leaves | 6g / 3 sheets |
NOTE: This recipe makes 8 x moulds. The moulds I am using are 7.5cm wide by 3.5cm hight pudding moulds.
*To substitute for a different strength gelatine, simply substitute it to equal amount of gelatine sheets (not by gram). For example, use 3 sheets of Titanium gelatine leaves to substitute 2 sheets of Titanium gelatine leaves.
CHOCOLATE CRUMBS
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Unsalted Butter | 40g |
Icing Sugar | 30g |
Egg Yolks | 20g |
Plain Flour | 50g |
Cocoa Powder | 15g |
TOASTED MERINGUE SHARDS
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Egg Whites | 40g |
Cream of Tartar | pinch |
Caster Sugar | 40g |
Icing Sugar - Sifted | 40g |
CACAO TUILE
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Pectin Nh | 2g |
Cane Sugar | 100g |
Water | 50g |
Glucose | 35g |
Cocoa Powder | 2g |
Unsalted Butter | 50g |
Coverture Dark Chocolate 70% | 60g |
METHOD
To make the Passionfruit Coconut Panna Cotta Plated Dessert
FOR THE PASSIONFRUIT SORBET
Combine the water, sugar and glucose in a pot and bring a to boil until the sugar are fully dissolved.
Cool the sugar solution completely, then add in the passionfruit puree and emulsify with a stick blender.
Pour the sorbet base into an ice cream churner and churn. Store the sorbet away in the freezer until ready to serve.
FOR THE PASSIONFRUIT SAUCE
Combine the puree, water and glucose in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Whisk in the agar and continue to boil over low heat for 1 minute.
Set the gel base aside in a jug and leave in the fridge to completely solidify.
When ready to use, break up the passionfruit gel base with a stick blender until it smotth. Stir in the passionfruit pulp.
Transfer the gel into a pipig bag and set aside in the fridge ready for plating.
FOR THE COCONUT PANNA COTTA
Hydrate the gelatine in cold water until softened.
In a saucepan, place all the rest of the ingredients over medium heat until the mixture comes to a simmer. Do not boil.
Skim off any foam on the surface of the mix.
Squeeze out the excess water from the bloomed gelatine and add into the milk mix by gently stirring until fully dissolved without incorporating any air pockets.
Strain the mixture and leave to completely cool.
Once cooled, divide into individual panna cotta moulds. Place the mould in the fridge for at least 4 hours to completely set.
FOR THE TOASTED MERINGUE SHARDS
Pre heat the oven to 70C
Place the room temperature egg whites in a stand mixer bowl and add in the cream of tartar. Whisk on medium speed until they are well aerated then gradually stream in the caster sugar.
Continue to whisk until you achieve a stiff meringue.
Gently fold in the sifted icing sugar without deflating the meringue too much.
Spread the meringue onto a silicone mat to about 2mm in thickness.
Dry the meringue sheet in the pre heated oven for approximately an hour or until it is completely dehydrated.
Remove the meringue from the oven and leave to cool completely.
Torch the top of the meringue with a blow torch then break into individual shards.
Store in an airtight container ready for plating.
FOR THE CHOCOLATE CRUMB
In a stand mixer, cream and butter and sugar together until smooth. Do not aerate.
Add in the yolks followed by the flour and continue to mix until a smooth dough is formed.
Roll the pastry between two parchment paper to approximately 0.5cm thick. Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Pre heat the oven to 160C.
Remove one sheet of parchment paper from the pastry and place it over a baking tray.
Bake in the preheated oven for 8 - 10 minutes or until it well baked through and crispy. Remove from oven and leave to cool completely.
Reserve some and chop to coarse crumble and break the rest into shards. Store in airtight container ready to plating.
FOR THE CACAO TUILE
Pre heat the oven to 160C.
Mix 1/3 of the cane sugar with the pectin in a bowl.
Add the rest of the sugar, glucose, butter, water and cocoa powder in a pan and bring to a boil over low heat.
Once the mixture comes to a boil, gradually stream in the pectin mix and continously whisk and bring it back to a boil for one minute.
Remove from the heat, add in the chocolate and whisk until fully melted.
Emulsify with a stick blender until smooth.
Cool the tuile to cool then spread it thinly on a silpat mat.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 10 - 12 minutes or until crispy. The mixture will start to bubble as it bakes and once it stops bubbling, it is ready to be removed from the oven.
Remove from the oven and leave to completely cool before breaking them to individual shards.
Store in an airtight container ready for plating.
ASSEMBLY
Dip the panna cotta mould in warm water for 10 seconds until you can feel that the panna cotta starts to release from the mould. Tilt it onto a plate.
Place some chopped chocolate crumbs next to the panna cotta.
Place a quenelle of passionfruit sorbet on top of the crumbs.
Spoon some of the passionfruit sauce on top of the panna cotta.
Place one of each shards - Chocolate crumb shards, cacao tuile and torched meringue shards on top of the sorbet.
Finish with some edible sweet alyssum flowers.
