Blackberry panna cotta

I had previously shot some panna cotta but I had actually never made this typical Italian dessert myself. I had made the panna cotta itself the day before, so they could sit in the fridge overnight and become firm. I was actually surprised how easy it is to make. I had always thought it was some kind of elaborate dessert, but I guess the trick is in the styling. Not so much in the actual making, although you can make 1000 variations to the panna cotta theme. In fact I bought a book filled with panna cotta recipes. For now I decided to start simple, which was probably a good decision!

This morning when I woke up the rain starting pouring down, so I figured it would be the perfect day for some indoor photography of my panna cotta dessert. So I went out in the rain and started with buying some fresh blackberries. I still had some strawberries, but my intention was initially to only use the blackberries. However; as you can see from the first photo it lacks a bit of something and I wasn’t so sure if the pink background would be too much.

pannacotta1 I decided to change the panna cotta as it was too messy, so I had to eat it…:) I obviously had made more then one, so I managed to get another one out of it’s container and started out a bit more conservatively with the decoration. I sliced a few strawberries and added them on a smaller plate. I then topped the panna cotta with some of the black berry compote and finished with a leave of basil. That might not be the obvious choice but I had not mint leaves and figured it would do for decoration purposes.

I was still with the pink background but at that point decided I found it too overpowering. So I changed it to a light blue which I think suited the dish better. I changed angles a couple of times before I found something that I liked. My favorite of the day is the last one in this series. pannacotta21

Recipe for panna cotta

Delicious panna cotta

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 4 hours

Total time: 4 hours 15 mins

Serves: 4

Panna cotta might seem a daunting dessert but it is so much easier then you would expect and delicious too!

Ingredients

5 dl cream
40 gram sugar
1/2 vanillastick
3 leaves of gelatine
100 gr raspberries(or blackberries which I used)

Instructions

You can make the preparations 1 day ahead, but should be at least 5 hours before consumption)
Let the cream, the sugar and the vanille simmer on low fire for approx. 15 minutes.
Scrape the marrow out of the vanilla stick with a sharp knife and add the marrow back to the cream.
Soak the gelatine in cold water for approx. 5 minutes.
Drain the gelatine so it has little fluid left and stir through the cream after you have taken this of the fire.
Cool the vanillecream and stir it occassionaly untill it starts to become slightly thicker.
Pour the cream in the forms and put in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
Puree the raspberries and add sugar and liquer to taste. Put aside untill further use.
To take the panna cotta out of the forms, hold them in hot water for a few seconds and put them on dessert plates. Put some raspberry sauce next to it and garnish the dish with raspberries, mintleaves or whatever else you want. Lightly dust with icing sugar