Edible garden – Oreo’s and red fruit panna cotta

I really think panna cotta is the best dessert ever invented. It can actually not fail, ideal if you’re with a lot of people, perfect to prepare in advance and you can give it another taste/ twist each time; what more could you want? Panna cotta means cooked cream, and that’s all it is: you cook cream (with seasonings), add gelatine and let the dessert set in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Simple as that!

I remember the first panna cotta I made. It was a recipe with white chocolate and passion fruit from Delicious Magazine. Together with my brother I cooked a dinner for 4 and the recipe said that you had to whip the cooked cream until lobed. Well, we have tried whipping, beating and shaking it lobed in every possible way but it didn’t work. In the end we just put the cream into the tins and it turned out fine. A new favourite was born!

Since then, I have tried many variations: with rosewater, honey and pistachio; with a layer of red fruit jelly; with mango puree. I once made a lighter, refreshing version with Greek yogurt and cream rather than just cream and that’s actually how I always make it now. Because no matter how delicious; panna cotta can be quite a heavy dessert.

“Can not fail, ideal if you’re with a lot of people, perfect to prepare upfront”: sounds like a perfect dessert for my “farm to table” dinner party! And to stay in that theme this time I made an edible garden of the panna cotta, with Amsterdam’s honey “from the backyard”. Honey, red fruit and edible flowers, but I also wanted a kind of sand…. I secretly used crumbled American Oreo cookies ;-). It turned out to be a delicious dessert that you put on the table with little effort. You can make a panna cotta a day in advance, ideally right?

Edible garden – Oreo’s, honey and red fruit panna cotta

Serves 4

Ingredients

Basic panna cotta recipe

• 250 ml cream
• 250g Greek yoghurt
• 1 vanilla bean
• 3 sheets gelatine

Extra for this version

• 3 tbsp. good quality honey
• 1 pack Oreos, crumbled (the filling you do not use)
• 4 tbsp. mixed red fruit (from the freezer or fresh)
• Edible violets in different colours (which you buy easily online at Bloombites, not sponsored, -))
• Few mint leaves

instructions

1. Pour the cream into a saucepan and place over low heat
2. Split the vanilla bean lengthways, scrape the seeds from inside the bean. Add the seeds and bean to the saucepan
3. Bring the cream to the boil and simmer gently (!) for 15 min
4. In the meantime add the gelatine to cold water
5. After 15 minutes remove the pan from the heat, squeeze the gelatine well and stir into the cream until the gelatine is dissolved
6. Add the honey and yogurt to the pan and stir again
7. Pour the panna cotta into nice glasses (or moulds, if you want to serve them on a plate)
8. Cover every panna cotta with a piece of cling film
9. Place the panna cotta in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to set

Serve

1. Take the panna cotta from the refrigerator and remove the cling film. If you want to serve on a plate: break the seal by inserting a small knife between the panna cotta and the mould. Turn onto a serving plate and shake to release.
2. Sprinkle a layer of Oreo’s sand on each panna cotta (the Oreos you crumble by placing the cookies in a sealable plastic bag and rolling them finely with a rolling pin)
3. Spoon a tablespoon mixed fruit on each panna cotta and finish with a few edible violets and mint leaves

You see: the basic recipe for panna cotta is not that difficult; I would really try it if I were you ;-).

Do you have a delicious panna cotta variety to share with me? Please leave a message below!

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