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.
“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.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from – or how you feel.
There’s always peace in a strong cup of coffee.”
Gabriel Bá
Coffee White Chocolate Panna Cotta, time for an indulgent dessert that screams coffee! It’s been a busy few days, or maybe weeks. A lot happening on every possible front which barely leaves me time to blog. Sometimes I fall into a guilt trap for starving the poor hungry PAB, so I figured the sweet coffee indulgence should be a nice way to offload my guilt. This dessert rocked, the flavours of local Bru shone through, the taste nice and mature after an overnight chill! For those who know me, coffee is my first choice in dessert.Of course it’s another matter that I was in Bangalore a couple of days ago styling tea for a shoot; tea that was almost too pretty to brew!!
Panna cotta has been in the news at home of late for all sorts of reasons. Good because this was an experiment that rocked, and one that I have made several times over. Made it most recently for my friends from the Swiss Made Grand Tour crew who visited last week. Bad because it was part of a plagiarism row that hit our small local food bloggers community. A similar panna cotta recipe, Espresso Panna Cotta, from PAB was one of many to be ‘copy pasted‘ verbatim! We live and learn, and hopefully ‘the copiers’ will too!
Moving on, it’s also a panna cotta coz I’m happy; happy about a media mention that The Asian Entrepreneur carried about me yesterday. It was quite a fun interview and I am eternally grateful to them for offering me such a wonderful platform.
This calls for a cuppa coffee!!
[print_this]Recipe: Coffee White Chocolate Panna Cotta
Summary: Indulgent, indulgent, indulgent. If you are a coffee lover, then this Coffee White Chocolate Panna Cotta is the dessert with you. The addition of good quality white chocolate adds depth and body to the dessert. Serves 6
65g good quality white couverture chocolate, chopped
400ml single cream {Amul low fat}
100g brown sugar
2tbsp instant coffee {Bru}
100ml warm milk
2tsp gelatin
Method:
Sprinkle the gelatin over the warm milk and leave to soften.
Meanwhile, put the white chocolate, cream, brown sugar and coffee into a heavy bottom pan, and simmer over gentle heat.
Stir the cream mixture and take off heat when small bubbles begin to appear around the edges at the bottom. Stir in the gelatin mix. Taste and adjust sugar if desired.
Allow to cool until lukewarm, then pass through sieve and pour into serving glasses/bowls.
Chill for at last 6-8 hours, better overnight.
Note: Top with a dark chocolate ganache for added indulgence. Or skip the coffee and add any flavour you like, then top with seasonal fruit or a fruit coulis.
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“Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love.”
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
Our recent trip to Sydney was brought even more alive with good cups of coffee from the crack of dawn to late into the night. They know how to brew a good cup. Oh those flat whites, lattes, cappuccinos, short blacks. Never ending delight sitting at cafes just looking at the variety of choices on offer, and how much folk Down Under enjoy a good brew. For those who have known me for long, you know that coffee is my first love. For those who don’t know me, welcome to my world flavoured by coffee. Coffee and me are inseparable. The mere aroma of coffee in the air is uplifting, seeing a barista at work, invigorating. Add it to dessert, and it’s nirvana!
Well homecoming had a pleasant surprise waiting for me, an espresso coffee machine standing tall on the counter. I still remember a coffee maker that I had bought from the UK years ago. For some reason I never used it as it involved filters and a 1000 bits and bobs that made life more work, less coffee! Cut to now, I took a little while getting used to this new machine from Tecnora. I’m a bit lazy {read plenty} on reading small print and instructions. That I had to do eventually, and soon I was brewing perfect little cups of coffee.TheClassico ‘Espresso Coffee Machine’ is a neat machine, the colours stylish in steel and black. Sleek with classic good looks, it blended seamlessly onto my kitchen counter with the Thermomix, the air fryer and the blender. It is lightweight, quick off its feet and quite simple to use. Switch it on, push a few buttons and it surprises you with how snappy it is. It’s also really simple to wash up, with a handy removable drip tray. Easy clean is what I love!The sweet guys from Tecnora also sent me a bag of fine ground coffee beans to get me going. I also have some stash of Coorgi coffee that I love, some vanilla flavoured coffee, and a few more sachets as a lot of people gift me coffee. I made a rather nice rustic bake the other day, a Wholegrain Fresh Peach and Cherry Tray Bake. It paired beautifully with a shot of espresso. Do keep an eye out for the recipe.
The same day, I was doing a product shoot for UnTied, and the classic espresso cuppa turned out to be the perfect missing piece to complete my shot! I loved the way the frames worked!!
Now that I have about mastered the perfect espresso shot, I have a few plans for more coffee madness. In the pipeline are affagato, espresso panna cotta, espresso coffee cake, probably Vietnamese iced coffee. My mouth is already watering as I share my plans. Do you guys like coffee? What is your best way to enjoy it? Coffee in desserts? Tell me, tell me, tell me!
“When you celebrate, there is sure to be cake.”
Florence Ditlow
Coffee Dark Chocolate Roulade … that’s what I made because I was craving coffee in cake. It’s been a while since I did coffee in a dessert. Roulade or Swiss Roll also because a load of my friends have been making them of late, and yes, I got tempted. First it was Himanshu, then Ruchira. Yesterday, I sauntered into the kitchen with no specific plan in mind, and this is what I came up with. Was yum! Hit the right coffee spot!
Just a short while ago, I got an email confirming that I made it to KitchenAid India’s Probaker challenge, one of top 50 Indian home bakers. It’s going to be a fun challenge, and for me, hopefully will give me more creative exposure. Will be baking with friends, and cannot wait to see how differently ‘baking minds‘ think when presented with similar ingredients. ‘Marching‘ ahead in anticipation!
I love this month. Come March, and there is inspiration galore. The weather fills you with energy, the air is nice and crisp, new blades of grass, ladybugs, flowers… so much INSPIRATION! There’s also something terribly inspiring about a cake that rolls. It’s a whole lot of fun too! My recipe for a V E R Y simple roulade lives in my head. I’ve made it with variations for years. 3 eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour. Quick, simple, fun!
A roulade is a dish of filled rolled meat or pastry. Traditionally found in various European cuisines, the term roulade originates from the French word “rouler”, meaning “to roll”. Some roulades consist of cake (often sponge cake) baked in a flat pan rolled around a filling. Cake rolled around jam, chocolate butter cream, nuts or other fillings, is an example of a sweet roulade like the bejgli or the Swiss roll. The bûche de Noël or “Yule log” is a traditional French Christmas cake roll, often decorated with frosting made to look like bark.
I find it comforting that everything sits snug inside a cake. It’s a funny way to look at it, but nice. One of my most memorable ones was a savoury Ricotta & Spinach Rouladefrom Ottolenghi. That was special and carried trademark Ottolenghi flavours and philosophy. Fresh, seasonal, simple. And then another, the Raspberry Pistachio Swiss Roll{or Spring Roll to herald in Spring one year!}
I’ve done a couple of gluten free ones as well. Those I loved heaps! A GF Mango Almond Quark Roulade and a GF Strawberry Almond Roulade. I also like that you can customise them to moods and ingredients on hand. So Spring often sees loads of strawberry flecked roulades, while summer will definitely see a mango and cream. Oh and summer will also see an ice cream roulade. That is even more fun!
This one went the coffee way. I prettied it a lil too as everything came together really quick which meant extra time. I had forgotten how soon these come together. With March still quite cold, the bake cooled a lot faster too. So I saved some ganache in a piping bag and did some free hand doodling over the roll. Wasn’t sure if the contrast would work, but I think I did OK. It looked pretty, subtle but pretty!
Oh and before I go, did I show you the very sweet Barnis {Indian Pickling jars} I got in the mail 2 days ago? My dear and very talented food blogger/food stylist friend Sanjeeta mailed them from Chennai. It was love at first sight. I couldn’t resist filling one with coffee beans and sneaking them into the frame!
You can find loads of COFFEE in my desserts here. That’s my most favourite flavour ever!
[print_this]Recipe: Coffee Dark Chocolate Roulade
Summary: A quick Coffee Dark Chocolate Roulade that comes together with minimal fuss. If you like love coffee, then this is for you. Paired with a dark chocolate ganache, flavoured with a hint of Kahlua, dressed up with doodles, what’s not to love about it! Serves 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hours Ingredients:
Coffee Roulade
3 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup – 1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1tbsp instant coffee
Coffee Syrup
1/4 cup water
25g brown sugar
1 tsp instant coffee
1tsp Kahlua {optional}
Filling/Chocolate Ganache
120g dark couverture chocolate
100g single cream
1 tbsp Kahlua {optional}
Icing sugar for sifting
Method:
Preheat the oven to 190C. Line a jelly roll pan with baking parchment.
In a large bowl, using an electric beater, whisk the eggs and brown sugar until tripled in volume and light and mousse like, about 8 minutes.
Add the coffee and vanilla extract, and beat for another minute.
Sift the flour over the bowl, and gently fold in making sure you don’t release the beaten in air.
Turn batter into prepared tray, smoothen out and bake for approx 25 minutes until light golden and firm to touch. Keep an eye during the last 5 minutes.
Lay a kitchen towel flat on the counter and sift over with powdered sugar. Turn the baked cake onto it, and gently peel off the parchment. Sift over with icing sugar, cover with sheet of parchment and roll gently into a tight roll, using the kitchen towel to guide you. Leave to cool completely.
Coffee Syrup
Place all ingredients in a small pan and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Cool and stir in the Kahlua if using. Reserve
Filling/Chocolate Ganache
Place the chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl. Heat until the chocolate is 3/4 done in the microwave, one minute at a time, or over a double boiler. Whisk until smooth. Add the Kahlua if using, whisk again. Cool completely. Reserve 2 tbsp in a piping bag if you wish to decorate the outside.
Assemble
Gently unroll the cake, paint over with syrup, and then spread the chocolate ganache all over it. Roll back gently but firmly, wrap in cling wrap and allow to chill seam down for an hour or two {or overnight} to allow the flavours to develop.
Unwrap and place on serving platter. Pipe a design over the roll if desired, slice and serve.
“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.
