Month: March 2022

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Best Strawberry Panna Cotta

Panna cotta is an excellent Italian dessert that is basically a sweetened cooked cream thickened with gelatin.
You can invert the Panna cotta on a serving plate. Please see recipe notes below.
Strained strawberry sauce.
This is a lemon Panna Cotta, garnished with candied lemon. You can make Panna Cotta with so may flavorings.
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Best Strawberry Panna Cotta

Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Keyword strawberry panna cotta, panna cotta
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 3
Author LDSโ€™s Mom

Ingredients

For Panna Cotta

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp unflavored powdered gelatin
  • 2 tbsp water

For the strawberry sauce

  • 2 cups fresh strawberries plus more for serving
  • 1/4 granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp cornstarch

Instructions

  1. First, prepare the Panna Cotta.

  2. Hydrate the powdered gelatin in 1 tablespoon water. Set aside.

  3. Put milk, heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan over medium low heat, stirring frequently. Bring to a simmer.

  4. Turn off the heat and add the hydrated gelatin.

  5. Mix well until the gelatin is dissolved.

  6. Add vanilla extract and mix it again.

  7. Pour in serving cups or ramekins.

  8. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours, preferably overnight.

Prepare the strawberry sauce

  1. In a saucepan, put the 2 cups fresh strawberries, sugar and water.

  2. Place the saucepan over medium heat.

  3. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

  4. Use a potato masher if you like, to mash the strawberries, this will help cook them fast.

  5. Add lemon juice then strain the sauce.

  6. Pour the strained sauce back in the saucepan over medium low heat.

  7. Add cornstarch and stir constantly until the sauce thickens. Let cool completely.

  8. Pour the strawberry sauce on the Panna Cotta in the serving cups.

  9. Garnish with some strawberries on top.

  10. Enjoy.

Recipe Notes

  • If you choose to invert the Panna Cotta on a plate then place the ramekins in hot water for few seconds. Run a thin knife around the edges of the ramekins then invert the Panna Cotta. Drizzle some strawberry sauce on top.
  • You can add sugar to your strawberry sauce to your liking.
  • You can use gelatin to thicken the strawberry sauce instead of cornstarch. The use of a little cornstarch will keep the sauce pourable unlike using gelatin.
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Les รŽles Flottantes – Floating Islands

This is one of the classic French dessert. Iles Flottantes is a French name which means the floating islands.
This dessert is made of Crรจme Anglaise, poached meringues and caramel. The meringues float on the Crรจme Anglaise, topped with caramel is a divine dessert!
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Les รŽles Flottantes – Floating Islands

Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword ile flotante
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 3
Author LDSโ€™s Mom

Ingredients

Crรจme Anglaise

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean, split in half (if you donโ€™t have use 1 tsp vanilla extract)

For the meringues

  • 3 egg whites
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • Pinch of salt

Caramel

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar

To poach the meringues

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup milk

Instructions

  1. First, prepare the Crรจme Anglaise, Put milk, heavy cream and the vanilla bean (I donโ€™t have so I have used vanilla extract) in a saucepan over medium heat.

  2. Bring to a boil.

  3. In meantime, mix the egg yolks, and sugar in a bowl.

  4. Once the milk is boiled, remove the vanilla bean from (if thatโ€™s what you have used).

  5. Pour the boiled milk on the egg yolks mixture, gradually while stirring constantly to avoid cooking the egg yolks.

  6. Pour the mixture back in the saucepan and cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.

  7. Once the mixture coat the back of a spoon and resemble a thick cream, remove from heat. Donโ€™t overcook it, otherwise the egg yolks will scramble. This may take less than 5 minutes.

  8. Pour the sauce through a fine strainer.

  9. Pour it in serving cups.

  10. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge.

  11. Put the egg whites with a pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.

  12. Whisk the egg whites on low speed first then increase the speed to medium and whisk until foamy.

  13. Add sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

  14. Pour milk and water in a saucepan and let it simmer on medium low heat (donโ€™t boil).

  15. Use a spoon or 2 spoons to shape the meringue into quenelles (oval shaped).

  16. Place the quenelles in the simmering milk mixture.

  17. Poach for 2 minutes in each side.

  18. Drain the poached meringues on paper towel.

  19. Remove the serving cups with the Crรจme Anglaise from the fridge.

  20. Place a poached meringues on top of the cooled Crรจme Anglaise. Set aside.

  21. Prepare the caramel.

  22. Put sugar in a saucepan over medium (to medium low) heat. Donโ€™t stir just move the saucepan to help the sugar dissolve.

  23. Once the sugar is dissolved and the caramel is formed, immediately pour it on top of the poached meringues and the Crรจme Anglaise in the serving cups.

  24. Let chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

  25. Enjoy.

Recipe Notes

  • You can poach the meringues in water only (no milk).
  • If you want your caramel to stay liquid, just cook sugar with a little water (about 1 tbsp) and 1 teaspoon lemon juice until the caramel forms then add a little boiled water (about 1 tbsp).
  • You can make the Crรจme Anglaise ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge.
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