Mousse-a-cotta with salted caramel is another twist on a previously failed chocolate panna cotta recipe. That Cocoa Mousse-a-cotta turned out to be one of my most popular recipes and images, especially on Instagram. It was a while back that I set out to make a dark chocolate panna cotta. Turned out the panna cotta didn’t set well at all yet it tasted absolutely delicious.When I turned it out of the mold to plate it, it formed this beautiful half circle and I just hadto take a picture of it. I gently dusted it with some chocolate shavings, went with a dark moody palate, and it’s been one of my best minimalistic simplest images ever. I often play around with that recipe, and as you might already know, I play around a LOT with chocolate.I got several requests for this mousse-a-cotta recipe when I shared the image on Instagram, so here you are. If you want to skip the salted caramel sauce, you can always add a spoon or two of Kahlua or Baileys to the mousse. Alternatively, a topping of cream, sweetened or otherwise, whipped or not, never hurts. To get a set panna cotta, you might need to experiment with increasing either the gelatin or the dark chocolate.However, for us, for now, this works perfectly well in single serving Weck jars. Don’t you love these pretty jars? My sweet friend Bina from A Bit Wholesomely sent them across to me as a gift a while ago, and I can’t stop using them! There’s so much you can do with them, but for now it’s the Mousse-a-cotta with salted caramel!
Mousse-a-cotta with salted caramel. Some desserts are classic no matter how you serve them. This one is where a silky dark chocolate mousse meets the panna cotta, resulting in a sublime, deep, chocolaty dessert. A topping of salted caramel sauce is just the right thing for it.
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Total Time 5 hourshours25 minutesminutes
Servings 6people
Ingredients
500mlsingle cream
1/4cupcocoa powder
1/4cup+ 1 tbsp brown sugar
100gcouverture chocolate {72%}
50mlmilk
1tspgelatin powder
Instructions
Warm milk to tepid and sprinkle over the gelatin. Leave to stand until soft.
Place cream, sugar and cocoa powder in heavy bottom pan and whisk well to mix.
Simmer over low heat until bubbles begin to appear around the edges, stirring constantly else the cocoa will get lumpy.
Take off heat and stir in the gelatin mix and dark chocolate.
Whisk well to mix, cool for about 30 minutes, then pour into glasses or jars to set.
Chill 5-6 hours / overnight.
Top with salted butter caramel and chocolate shards before serving.
“Eating more consciously now feels like a way of being. I actually think about how my food got to my plate.”
Oprah Winfrey
Cocoa Mousse-a-Cotta a food experiment that went off track, was however delicious! Yet the thought through the day was, “What do we eat today?”, the eternal question for the harried homemaker! Life is a food fight to the finish. Ever since I picked up food blogging, the entire algorithm of what appeared on our table changed. Biggest change – carbs down, protein up! Studying home science in school, nutrition, vitamins, minerals, proteins and carbohydrates ruled the text book, the interest obviously low. It was only much later as a young mother and food blogger that I connected with those wanton days in school. My food now made sense to me! Yet the protein struggle ruled. Tough fight. Life is tough when you are the provider. I sleep every night thinking of the ideal food to serve the next day. Mornings see me hit the ground running, no calories lost of course. With such an informed audience, the questions have changed. When I plan, different food groups run in my head. These Oat Walnut Trifles with Roasted Peaches & Plumsfor instance – oats, walnuts, clarified butter, low fat cream, fruit, herbs – quite balanced and always welcome. It’s often the mains that don’t stand scrutiny! From ‘Oooh this is delicious’, they now say “Looks yum, but first, what’s in it?” On comes a fitness app, the meal fed in, and much to my horror, stripped bare. It says more protein Mama. And I’m left thinking, there’s something missing. We’ve done the list – egg, cottage cheese, nuts, chicken, loads of dairy, fruit as much as I can push.The Sweet Potato Pound Cake with salted butter caramel sauce is a good example. Didn’t pass the protein test! I beat a hasty retreat and mumble “OK, let me think of something”. More eggs perhaps but there’s a limit to how many! Ideas pop out of my head. The logical one goes like, “Skip dessert today. You’ve reached the sugar limit!!”. “Don’t change the topic”, they holler as dessert is polished off! Now guess what? I’ve found the something missing. Protinex!! Happily enough, this gap can be bridged with the help of Protinex in your daily diet.
Did you have days like these where you found something missing?
Tell me please. And while you think, here’s some more food for thought.
A dessert I made the other day, an experiment which went deliciously wrong. A panna cotta which failed, became a mousse-a-cotta, turning out sinfully delicious. Obviously it had something missing, and that seems to be the story of my life at the moment. It’s something that I will erroneously make again till I get the recipe right, and I think you should too! Watch this space while I figure things out!
Cocoa Mousse-a-Cotta, a failed panna cotta experiment that became a mousse. Deep, dark, indulgent dessert experiment which turned out deliciously wrong. It had something missing in the ingredients, but certainly not in taste! Try this you must, until I reach the right one!
Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 7 minutesminutes
Total Time 8 hourshours37 minutesminutes
Servings 6people
Ingredients
600mllow fat cream
75gcocoa powder
75gbrown sugar
100mlmilk
1tspgelatin powder
Instructions
Warm milk to tepid and sprinkle over the gelatin. Leave to stand until soft.
Place cream, sugar and cocoa powder in heavy bottom pan, whisk well to mix.
Simmer over low heat until bubbles begin to appear around the edges, stirring constantly else the cocoa will get lumpy.
Take off heat and stir in the gelatin. Whisk well to mix, cool for about 15 minutes, then pour into moulds to se.
Chill overnight. Serve with grated dark chocolate.
“As long as there was coffee in the world, how bad could things be?”
Cassandra Clare
Dark Chocolate Cream with Coffee Panna Cotta. OK, it’s another ‘dessert in a glass’, yet another panna cotta, chocolate again, and coffee all over again! That’s the combination that rules my world, makes me happy, is a comfort fix, is uber indulgent too. To top it off, it’s a quick make ahead dessert that everyone enjoys a lot. Justifies it a bit, right?
If you’ve never made a panna cotta, maybe the time is now. Since I’ve shared panna cottaso often before, this is going to be a short post. If you love it as much as I do, then you know what I mean. We’re on the same page. Play around with the recipe to suit your palette. If coffee is not your thing, then maybe do a dark chocolate vanilla version. Or one that we really enjoyed equally when I did one with the bitter orange marmalade. That was phenomenal too.
Just penning these words has given me a whole bunch of new ideas. What is you favourite way to a panna cotta?
[print_this]Recipe: Dark Chocolate Cream with Coffee Panna Cotta
Summary: Indulgent and ever so pleasing, this Dark Chocolate Cream with Coffee Panna Cotta offers a match made in heaven. Set in glass goblets to enjoy its visual appeal! The dark chocolate cream on it’s own is quite indulgent too.
125gm dark chocolate, chopped {I used 70% couverture}
25ml honey
25g good quality cocoa powder
10ml Kahlúa {optional}
Coffee Panna Cotta
300ml low fat cream
125 ml whole milk
2 tsp gelatin
1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee powder
1/2 cup brown sugar {use slightly less first, then adjust as required }
Method:
Dark Chocolate Cream
Place the cream, chocolate and honey in a large heat proof bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stir until smooth.
Whisk in the cocoa powder and Kahlúa if using.
Place 6 wine glasses at a slant in a loaf pan, and pour the chocolate mixture into them. Leave these to set in the fridge for 2-3 hours till they hold shape.
Coffee Panna Cotta
Sprinkle the gelatin over a 1/4 cup of milk and place the bowl over hot water for gelatin to melt.
Bring the cream, sugar, coffee powder & remaining milk to a simmering boil over low heat, simmer for 5 minutes.
Take cream mixture off heat, whisk in the gelatin until mixed uniformly. Adjust sugar if required. Cool to room temperature and then pour over the set dark chocolate mousse.
Chill until set for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Top with dark chocolate curls dusted with cocoa powder.
“I am starting to think that maybe memories are like this dessert. I eat it, and it becomes a part of me, whether I remember it later or not.”
Erica Bauermeister
Espresso Panna Cotta … this is what sweet dreams are made up of, and made up of everything I absolutely LOVE. Love a good panna cotta, love coffee and of course expresso. Did a fingerlicking spoon licking good buttermilk panna cotta for Fit Foodie recently, and then remembered this deliciousness which was lurking in my drafts. Time it saw light of day …
Did I say some time back that we had barely seen desserts or bakes of late? Well seem to be making up for the ‘unsweet’ patch, as far as blogging goes at least. This panna cotta was actually inspired by super talented Bart posting some espresso meringues with a chocolate sauce on a food photography FB group. Then along came my sweet friend Gloria’s Affagato which made my heart skip another beat! ’twas time for espresso…
… and the next best thing was an Espresso Panna Cotta. Smooth, silky, seductive with coffee written all over it, how can dessert be so indulgent. My Indian coffee or Bru Panna Cotta is an all time favourite, yet the Espresso Panna Cotta now threatens to knock that off the perch. I love doing panna cottas, and have done loads from buttermilk, to saffron, to mango… and more. ‘Making‘ seems a lame term for a dessert so simple which comes together in a matter of minutes. Then it’s all down to a good chill!
[print_this]Recipe: Espresso Panna Cotta
Summary:Espresso Panna Cotta. Smooth, silky, seductive with coffee written all over it, how can dessert be so indulgent. A topping of a ganache like dark chocolate adds oomph to it!
Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time:20 minutes Ingredients:
600ml low fat cream
100g brown sugar
2-3 tsp espresso powder
120ml milk, luke warm
2 tsp gelatin powder
Dark chocolate topping
70g dark chocolate
70g low fat cream
Method:
Sprinkle gelatin over luke warm milk and let stand for five minutes.
Place the cream, espresso and sugar in a heavy bottom pan and gently bring to a simmer, but not a full boil. Stir often.
Take off heat. Add 1-2 tbsp of this hot cream to the dissolved gelatin to loosen it further, and then pour the gelatin mix back into the hot cream through a sieve. Stir well.
Let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes, then distribute among your serving bowls/molds/ramekins/goblets.
Allow to set for 6-8 hours/preferably overnight.
Gently heat the chocolate and cream in a heat proof bowl in the microwave {or double boiler}. Cool to room temperature, then pour over the set espresso panna cotta.
“Giving birth is little more than a set of muscular contractions granting passage of a child. Then the mother is born.”
Erma Bombeck
Mango Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta … this is really delicious, creamy and special. Well anything that has the Indian king of fruits has to be special. Yes, it’s mango season and the markets are literally flooded with luscious fruit. This is just the beginning and it’s going to get better and better.
So when I saw the Panacotta vanilla with passion fruit sauce @ Canela kitchen, I knew it was panna cotta time on PAB, the perfect dessert for Mother’s Day! I love the stuff my sweet friend Gloria from Santiago churns out, and this recipe was different from any I had seen before.
Who doesn’t love a good panna cotta, one of the easiest and yummiest desserts that the Italians offer the world? Infinitely versatile, beautiful to serve, eggless, make ahead … and oh-so-satisfying! It’s easy to run out of adjectives when trying to describe a dessert well-loved across the globe.
I’ve done several {read MANY} versions of this delectable dessert in the past. Some of my favourites are Bru Coffee Panna Cotta, Buttermilk Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries,Strawberry & Tangerine Quark Panna Cotta with Oatmeal Florentines, Dark Chocolate & Orange Panna Cotta, Mousse-a-cotta, Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta and Saffron Caramel Panna Cotta … see didn’t I say M.A.N.Y.
As you can see, Panna Cotta holds a really special place in my heart. I love how easily it comes together, how infinitely you can play with flavours and how stunning it looks. Use seasonal fruit, or a favourite liqueur to add some oomph, or just simple vanilla bean to tease the taste-buds. You could also try a dairy free version with coconut milk and cream. Mmmm…The Mango Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta was sublime, a celebration of all good things in life. It’s a good dessert to salute the toughest job in the world. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there.
Other Mother’s Day desserts on PABBittersweet Chocolate Marquise with Crème Chantilly & Balsamic Cherry Sauce Espresso Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
[print_this]Recipe: Mango Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta
Summary: Delicious, creamy, sublime, indulgent and simple, Mango Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta is a great make ahead dessert option. Made with pantry staples, you can use any seasonal fruit that you like. Alternatively, make a vanilla bean panna cotta and serve with fruit on top, or drizzled with a fruit coulis. Serves 8-10
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 10 minutes plus chilling Ingredients:
50ml milk, lukewarm
2tsp gelatin
500ml low-fat cream {20-25%}
1 tin sweetened condensed milk {approx 400ml}
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
2 mangoes, peeled, diced {approx 500g net}
Fresh mint to garnish
Method:
Sprinkle the gelatin over lukewarm milk and leave to stand for 5 minutes to soften.
Place the condensed milk, cream and scraped vanilla bean in a heavy bottom pan and whisk to blend. Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a bare boil. Take off heat and whisk the gelatin mixture in well. Strain and allow to cool to room temperature.
Reserve 3/4 cup diced mangoes for topping. Divide the rest between the serving glasses. Gently pour the cooked cream over.
Refrigerate for 4-6 hours {preferably overnight} until set.
Top with the reserved diced mango and garnish with fresh mint.
“I remember a hundred lovely lakes, and recall the fragrant breath of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees. The trail has strung upon it, as upon a thread of silk, opalescent dawns and saffron sunsets.”
Hamlin Garland
There’s something about saffron, something exotic, like a caress, light and beautiful! A tiny bit of this beautiful spice catapults a seemingly good dish into an extraordinary one. Pairing it with a panna cotta I learnt that something quite ethereal happened! We have never sat so long over dessert … S L O W L Y is how we ate it, not wanting it to finish. Thats just how sublime the Saffron Caramel Panna Cotta turned out to be.A good panna cotta is one of my favourite Italian desserts, possibly on top of my list. It’s been difficult to get the right consistency as whipping or heavy cream isn’t available here in India. I’ve made panna cotta several times in the past, but have never had much luck with turning them out perfectly, never a 100% satisfied feel!Must have been my lucky day as I experimented with a combination of low fat cream and gelatin and got the most amazing result. Amazing in taste and more importantly amazingly set! I set a few in goblets and the rest in metal molds with a saffron caramel {one in a ramekin too}. I had panna cotta on my mind ever since I received a mail from VAV Life Sciences, Mumbai inquiring if I was willing to review a ‘saffron extract‘ that their company produced. Saffron?Yes please! I’d never heard of saffron extract even though I use the normal dry saffron strands quite often … like here in Saffron, Pistachio & cardamom Kulfi {Indian frozen dessert}, Saffron Pistachio Yogurt Ice Cream, Saffron Rice Pudding, Hyderabadi Katchi Biryani, Yakhni Pulao etc.
Natural Saffron Extract : Saffron is a culinary spice that comes from the stigma of the crocus sativus flowers. Saffron Extract is a specially formulated food grade extract of saffron that has been treated to enhance the natural flavour of saffron, without losing any of its natural properties. There is a reduction in the amount of saffron extract required for imparting the same flavour, as compared to dry saffron. While the saffron leaves quickly stale and dry out, saffron extract does not lose flavour and can be stored upto 24 months. Liquid extract is easier to use and standardized in food preparations compared to dry stamens and can be dosed precisely compared to natural saffron. {For further details you can get in touch with Maitreyee Ghosh – logistics {@} vav {dot} in/ VAV Life Sciences }
With the tag of being the most expensive spice in the world, saffron is precious in many ways, especially its delicate flavour. Gentle and mild yet it elevates taste exotically perhaps like no other spice, saffron is associated with cuisines from India, Persia, Turkey, the Arab World, and even Europe. And I love the way it embraces both sweet and savory recipes so well.This versatile spice goes a long way, and the saffron extract was a pleasant surprise. It imparted the characteristic subtle saffron flavour and colour to perfection. It was easier to use as its already in an extract form so the need to soak it for the obligatory 15 minutes prior use wasn’t necessary. The flavours were deep and pronounced, as was the colour. Just a knife tip amount {about 1/8tsp} was good enough to beautifully flavour the panna cotta and another bit to flavour and colour the caramel.A panna cotta caramel? That morning my path crossed with Raquels who writes a stunning food blog in Spanish, The Tragaldabas. She had the most beautiful panna cotta posted there, and I found my culinary path instantly!! She used Werthers candy in her caramel, and the very idea of a panna cotta with a caramel had me captivated.I went my own caramel way, like how my mother used to make it for caramel custard when we were kids. I remember waiting with bated breadth for the custard to be turned over {always in a green bowl which was reserved for caramel custard}. All three of us sisters would cheer when like magic the well set steamed pudding would ‘plop’ out with this shining crown on top!That was going to be the caramel for my panna cotta, one I decided to flavour with a dash of the saffron extract. Since saffron is such a gentle spice, I kept from letting the caramel turn characteristically dark. Bitter caramel in pudding is yum, but with saffron I turned the heat off the minute the sugar melted and coloured slightly.Perfect Spring dessert, the panna cotta came together like a beautiful dream, lilting, mesmerising, smooth, perfect, like a dream you didn’t want to wake up from. The textures teased the palette and we ate it in silence, everyone enjoying the elegance and caress of this cooked cream. {I made it again yesterday, on request, and to ensure that the magic was for real. It was!!}
[print_this]Recipe: Saffron Caramel Panna Cotta
Summary: Perfect Spring dessert, the panna cotta came together like a beautiful dream, lilting, mesmerising, smooth, perfect, like a dream you didn’t want to wake up from. The textures teased the palette and we ate it in silence, everyone enjoying the elegance and caress of this exquisite Italian dessert.
Prep Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes plus setting time Ingredients:
Saffron caramel
75gm granulated sugar
1-2gm saffron extract {knife tip full}
Saffron Panna Cotta
2tsp gelatin powder
3 tbsp cold water
1ltr low fat cream {18% fat}
110gm vanilla sugar {or plain}
1/8 tsp saffron extract {plus a teeny bit more for topping}
Pistachios, rose petals to garnish
Method:
Saffron caramel
Keep the serving molds/ramekins ready.
Place sugar and 1/8 tsp of saffron extract in heavy bottom pan and melt the sugar to a light caramel. Do not let it burn or it will gte bitter. Swirl the pan often and take off the minute all the sugar has melted. It should be a bright orange colour.
Immediately spoon about a heaping tsp into each mold/ramekin, swirling it about to distribute it.Continue for all the molds. Do this pretty fast as the caramel will harden rapidly. Just in case it hardens before you are place the pan over very low heat to melt again.
Saffron Panna Cotta
Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let stand for five minutes.
Place the cream, saffron and sugar in a heavy bottom pan and gently bring to a simmer, but not a full boil. Stir often.
Take off heat. Add 1-2 tbsp of this hot cream to the dissolved gelatin to loosen it further, and then pour the gelatin mix back into the hot cream through a sieve. Stir well.
Let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes, reserve about 100ml {optional}, and distribute the rest among your serving bowls/molds/ramekins/goblets.
Leave to set for about 1-2 hours, then add a tbsp of the deeper saffron cream over the tops. Allow to set for another 6-8 hours/preferably overnight.
Demold loosening the sides with a blunt knife and serve with a sprinkling of pistachio nuts and edible dried rose petals if you like.
