We both love puddings and custards and since I hadn’t made it in a long while, I decided to whip up some panna cotta.
And a set of silicone rose molds inspired me to make a strawberry topping that turned out so beautifully!
This dessert isn’t hard to make, but you do need to figure in plenty of time for the panna cotta to set up.
Begin by sprinkling gelatin over 1/4 cup cold milk.
Add sugar to the cream
Add in vanilla, stir well and cook for about four minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Pour into dessert cups and chill.
While the panna cotta is chilling, chop up strawberries, so you have about three cups. Add to sugar and lemon juice in a heavy saucepan.
Cook until it starts to bubble on medium-high heat, then turn down to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes, until sauce thickens.
If desired, strain mixture to remove seeds and any remaining pulp. Use the back of a spoon to press through strainer.
I gave the molds a quick shot of non-stick cooking spray before spooning in the strawberry sauce.
Freeze until ready to use then just peel back the molds and place a rose on each dessert cup.
Vanilla Panna Cotta
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold milk, divided
1 ¾ cups heavy cream
¼ cup granulated sugar
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
Sprinkle gelatin over ¼ cup milk in a small bowl. Stir until moistened. Let stand five minutes (it will be lumpy).
Cook heavy cream, granulated sugar and vanilla in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for about four minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add gelatin mixture, stirring until completely dissolved. Add in remaining ¾ cup milk. Stir in then pour mixture into six 4-ounce dessert glasses or wineglasses. Cover with plastic wrap and chill eight hours or overnight.
Strawberry Topping
3 cups fresh strawberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
Rinse berries then cook with sugar and lemon juice over medium heat in heavy saucepan until sauce is thick, stirring occasionally. This is going to take about 10-12 minutes.
When the berries have cooked down and thickened, you can run through a strainer to remove the seeds and pulp or serve seeds and all. If you choose to strain, use a the back of a spoon to press the berries through a strainer. The end result is a magically wonderful sauce that you literally want to eat with a spoon. I poured the sauce into a silicone rose mold and froze it until I was ready to serve. Or you can simply refrigerate sauce, covered, until ready to serve. Garnish with a few fresh berries.
It turned out even prettier than I’d hoped and tasted yummy, too!
