Saturday, February 15, 2014

Simplicity

There's always beauty with simplicity. Simplicity in appearance, simplicity in food. Sometimes I like to be elaborate & picky, but every now and then, I'm a little too lazy to do something complicated.

I haven't really cooked or baked much lately, but I made something simple that was easy and wowed my family. Green tea panna cotta.

For me, panna cotta has always been one of my favourite desserts. Basically like a pudding; soft, creamy with that little jiggle. It's simple.

Now, perhaps some of you are like 'Hold your horse! Isn't panna cotta difficult to do?' So, some of you may be intimidated to make panna cotta like I was initially, but it turns out, it's actually super super easy. Who loves fast & easy desserts? *Raise hands*
Honestly? You'll probably have all these ingredients in your pantry except for the green tea powder. However, I do suggest buying some green tea powder because it's a beauty in desserts (e.g my green tea ice cream). I'd dial up the green tea powder and take down the sweetness just a little. But other than that, it was simple, and pretty perfect.

P.S you can find me on Twitter now!

Green tea panna cotta
Serves 6 (I made about 7 ramekins)

Ingredients
1 and 1/2 tsp green tea powder (I'd increase to 2 or 2 and 1/2)
600 ml (21 fl oz) cream
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp gelatine powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
*Optional: Sliced fruit

Method:
1. Put the green tea powder in saucepan with a little of the cream. Mix and form a paste. Then, whisk the remaining cream, ensuring that there are no lumps.
2. Add sugar the saucepan, stirring to dissolve. Then, slowly bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Then remove from heat.
3. Put the gelatine in a small bowl and whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot cream to form a smooth paste. Return the mixture to the saucepan, stirring until the gelatine has completely dissolved. Rest for 10 minutes to allow it to infuse.
4. Strain the mixture into a large bowl, then add milk & vanilla and stir to combine.
5. Pour into teacups/moulds/ramekins, and chill for at least 3 hours or until set.

Adapted from Yoshoku via Ooh-look

2 comments:

  1. Is it possible to substitute the cream for something non-dairy?
    Any suggestions? Thanks!
    -Zosia

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Zosia! I'm honestly not too sure whether it'd be the same, as I don't avoid dairy products (and this as my first time making panna cotta), but I guess there's no harm in trying. Maybe you could use coconut milk, but the taste would definitely be different. You could even use almond milk or soy milk? But whatever you have in mind, give it a go! However, let me know if you do make it with a non-dairy product!

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