Panna Cotta with Raspberry Coulis

After being given some anodised silver pudding basins for Christmas last year I have been looking for something to try these out. I’d already used them with the Chocolate Fondants and they were very successful then, but a fondant in this hot weather wasn’t what I was craving. Panna Cotta on the other hand is a desert quintessential to the warmer summer months, served garnished with fresh fruit, refreshing coulis and finished with a sprig of fresh mint. This creation debuted for Alev’s birthday dinner, and again is completely gulten free. This version is served with a raspberry coulis, but there are many different variations that this can be served with. I’ve even seen it served with a chocolate sauce for those of you who are looking for some serious indulgence!

Ingredients:

(For the Panna Cotta)

3 gelatine leaves

250 ml milk

250 ml double cream

1 vanilla pod (split lengthways)

25 g caster sugar.

(For the coulis)

175 g caster sugar

175 ml water

200 g of raspberries (plus extra for decoration)

Method:

Soak the gelatine leaves in water until soft. They will get considerably larger, and try to resist the urge to touch them!

Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan and add the sugar and vanilla pod (complete with seeds) and heat on a low heat until gently simmering. Remove from the heat as soon as this happens.

Drain the water off the gelatine leaves, and add to the milk mixture stirring until dissolved. Pour the mixture into the pudding basins (this will make enough to fill 4 of approximately 150ml each. Leave these to cool thoroughly before chilling. When I made these, I made them the day before and left to chill in the fridge overnight but they do set within a couple of hours if time is a premium.

For the sauce, place the sugar and water in a pan and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the majority of the raspberries and blitz with a hand blender until smooth.

Press the blitzed raspberry mixture through a sieve to remove the unwanted seeds. Allow this to chill before serving.

Turn out the panna cotta when you are ready to serve and spoon the coulis around the base. Garnish with a fresh raspberry and a sprig of mint.

Country Boy says:

When turning these out, they can sometimes be a bit unwilling to leave the pudding basin so either plunge them into a shallow dish of hot water first, or quickly run a blow torch around the basin once upturned.

Variations:

The coulis can be made with any sort of summer berry (or a mixture if you wanted to be really adventurous!) Why not try it with blackberries in the autumn and when it comes to blitzing, throw in a few sprigs of mint to create a cool buzz, or use strawberries with a squeeze of fresh lime to add some zing. Let me know what you try. 

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake (for Sophia)

As you have probably gathered with my previous blogs, I associate the dishes that I make with certain people. This cake is one that I discovered a couple of weeks ago courtesy of the voluptuous Nigella so it probably should come with a warning about how sickeningly delicious it is. Anyway, enough of Nigella, this cake is one that I made with my especially awesome friend Sophia in mind. Like Alev, Sophia doesn’t eat wheat, but this comes with the added bonus (complication?!) of the fact that she also doesn’t eat any dairy either. Yes bakers, I know what you are thinking- worst nightmare and all that! But fear not, help is at hand in the form of this really quite surprising Chocolate Olive Oil Cake, which is a future staple of the City Kitchen. Sophia, this one is for you...

Ingredients:

150 ml olive oil (or any good quality vegetable oil)

50 grams of cocoa powder

125 ml boiling water

2tsp vanilla extract

150 grams of ground almonds

½ teaspoon of bicarb

Pinch of salt

200 grams of caster sugar

3 large eggs

Method:

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees (if using a fan oven like me, 170 otherwise) and grease a 9 inch spring form cake tin (or standard sponge tin works just as well)

Pour the boiling water into a heat proof bowl and sift the cocoa powder into this and whist vigorously. Add the vanilla and set aside to cool.

In another bowl, combine the almonds, bicarb and salt. Meanwhile beat the eggs, oil and sugar until you have a light yellow, creamy batter.

Following this, slowly pour in the cocoa mixture and continue mixing, then slowly add the almond combination to this as well.

Pour this into the prepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Country Boy says:

This cake should still look a bit moist when it is finished, and it does have a bit of a funky texture even when cool. When removing from the oven, slide a sharp knife into the centre and it should come out clean.

Serving suggestions:

This cake is so versatile you can either serve it warm with a spoonful of Greek yoghurt or crème fraiche, or cold with a cup of tea. I also found that this cake was at its best 24 hours after cooking as its had time to settle properly, so try and resist the temptation for that long, but if not, enjoy it when it’s warm and seductive.

I’ve also debated changing this up a bit with the addition of some crystallised ginger, finely chopped, when you mix in the three main ingredients. Have a go and let me know what you think. 

Wheat Free Chocolate Fondant (for Alev)

I found this absolute gem of a recipe for my friend Alev when she came over for her birthday recently as she can’t eat wheat. I can hear that collective groan released when you realise that this awesome looking fondant is wheat free as yes, we all know that this means that it will probably have a texture somewhere between cement and sand paper. However, this is a real moist treat that knocks the socks off standard fondants. I think this is probably down to the condensed milk which is added to the recipe which keeps it moist and decadent. Now I will say that this photo is a second attempt at the first batch of these turned out a little bit like chocolate soup (which I was told tasted awesome nonetheless) but you do need to be strict with your oven timer when you make this one.

Ingredients:

55 grams butter

85 grams caster sugar

170 gram tube of condensed milk

4 large eggs

Pinch of salt

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1 tsp of coffee powder, dissolved in 1 tbsp of hot water

350 grams of dark chocolate (approx 50% cocoa solids)

85 grams of wheat free flour (I use Doves Farm, but you can equally make this with the same quantity of plain flour)

4 greased pudding tins (I grease in a downwards direction, then dust with cocoa and chill)

Variations:

This recipe can also be delicious with a couple of small additions. For a slightly boozier, more grown-up taste, a shot of Tia Maria can be substituted for the coffee, or perhaps jazz it up with the grated zest of an orange and a squeeze of fresh orange juice. Let me know what you think!

Method:

Beat the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until smooth. Add the condensed milk.

Whisk in the eggs one at a time then add vanilla and coffee.

Add the melted chocolate and the flour and whisk until the mixture forms a smooth, loose batter.

Spoon into the pudding moulds and chill. Place into a pre heated oven (150 fan assisted, 200 conventional) and cook for 12 minutes (the pudding should have formed a slight dome that wobbles slightly when touched. Some cracks might appear, but don’t worry!) If it needs longer, check it every minute until it has reached this stage.

The joy about this pudding is it’s sauce is hidden in the centre, but if you do want to indulge a little more, this is delicious served a spoonful of clotted cream.

Country Boy says:

When turning these out, run a knife around the top edge of the pudding only to loosen the pudding. Turn these over and cover with a tea towel and give it a good tap to ensure it has popped out neatly. Sometimes a tap can be a little less than required, so don’t be afraid of being quite firm. If it is sticking, ease it out gently with a thin knife.