Bonjour! Comment ca va?
I am just showing off ALL the French I have picked up so far. Basically, all of the above and nothing more.
Anyways, 13 days to jingle bells! It’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Talking about Christmas, I am someone who wants to overdeliver when it comes to entertaining guests. If I had it my way, I would want to serve a whole stretch of the buffet to my guests which would include at least 10 types of dainty desserts for them to choose from.
My cousin aka Riya always has to keep me in control. She would constantly remind me not to go crazy with cooking as after cooking so much food, I get extremely sapped and worn-out and subsequently I might not be able to enjoy the party as much.
Thing is, most of the time, we would be holding the Christmas get together at my house and I feel it is my responsibility to cook most of the food despite the fact that it is a potluck. I mean since I’m hosting, I should be cooking the most? Well, at least that is how my mind works.
Anyways, I have been brainstorming as to what I should be cooking/baking for Christmas. Although the menu is still in the planning stage, I know I am going to make 2 types of desserts. One simple and the other slightly elaborate. With regards to the simple dessert, my heart is hooked on this. ↓
I would be making this Panna cotta with Strawberry Coulis. It is so dope. Despite its simplicity, it is an impressive dessert! Both in terms of taste as well as appearance. I personally love to serve these in little shot glasses.
For those of you who are not familiar with panna cotta, it basically means “cooked cream” in Italian. It is as simple as bringing together some cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla. You then add some gelatine to the mixture and let it set in the fridge. You get this rich silky-smooth custard-like consistency dessert. Delicious on its own but if you top it with some berry sauce or Strawberry Coulis, you would be bringing it 3 levels up! Of course, if you prefer it topless plain, you can serve it naked. Okay, that statement needed parental guidance.
“Naked” Panna Cotta
Despite the usage of heavy cream, this panna cotta is still light. Some recipes call for all cream but I prefer to add some milk too, so as to make an even lighter panna cotta.
You can actually top the panna cotta with anything you prefer. Caramel, chocolate ganache, lemon curd and even just fresh berries. I personally love this Strawberry Coulis as there is just something about eating a creamy dessert with the tangy berries. Think strawberries and cream. Oh, it works equally well with raspberries too!
I consider this dessert perfect for any days. It’s elegant and refreshing and you can always change the topping, thus it can be something new every time! Best of all they can be made well in advance, which always makes it easy for a crowd.
Do give this recipe a try people. Everyone is going to be impressed. I promise!
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp unflavored gelatin
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 250g strawberries, quartered
- 1-3 tbsp sugar (depending on how sweet the strawberries are)
- 1 tbsp water
- In a food processor, puree the strawberries, water and sugar until smooth.
- Pass through a strainer to remove the seeds out of the sauce.
- Once cool, store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- In a small saucepan, add the water and sprinkle the gelatin over it.
- Keep it aside for 2 minutes for it to "bloom".
- After that, heat the gelatin mixture over low heat till it is completely melted. Keep this aside.
- In another saucepan, add cream, milk and sugar.
- Cook till this mixture almost reached a simmer. Do not boil.
- Take off from the fire, add gelatin and vanilla essence.
- Pour into ramekins or any other containers you prefer.
- Once cool, cover and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
This looks amazing! Could you tell us where the shot glasses came from?
Hi Jan. I don’t think you are from Singapore but still, I bought it from a shop called “Redman”. It is actually not a shot glass. It is a little jar and I am presuming you would easily be able to find little jars pretty much all over. 🙂