Panna cotta is one of those desserts that is easy and quick to prepare and, above all, is always very satisfying. It is perfect at the end of a meal, ideal as a dessert for festive lunches and dinners, to offer to friends and relatives.
This version is even more so!
It is a panna cotta enriched by the addition of a cup of excellent coffee, very beautiful to present. Served on a plate, with chocolate ganache, on a base made without cooking with coffee biscuits, it will undoubtedly enchant your guests.
The basic version of this dessert is always delicate and simple, prepared with very few ingredients, necessarily fresh and of excellent quality: cream, milk and sugar cooked together and then firmed by the presence of a few sheets of gelatine, which will allow the dessert to thicken while maintaining its soft consistency.
Generally, panna cotta is served in a glass, but it is more interesting if made in single portions with molds of different shapes and then unmold and serve on a plate, decorated as you prefer.
I chose the donut shape, of panna cotta donuts. You can use silicone molds to easily unmold them, or just dip the mold in hot water for a few moments to then detach the solidified panna cotta.
As I was saying, this version is enriched by the strong and unmistakable aroma of coffee. This is the Nobile blend, a coffee for refined palates, with a rounded taste and an intense sensation of cocoa aroma that I then wanted to amplify even more.
The crunchy base is made with Manuel coffee biscuits, the Caffettuosi: their fragrance and aroma, mixed with good butter, have created a simple and very quick base for panna cotta.
There is another little secret that has made this dessert a delight for the palate, it is a spice.
Infuse the cream with some berries, or even some crushed seeds, for an even more intense flavor, of cardamom. Coffee with cardamom is a consolidated combination, with ancient origins, very popular in North Africa. You will taste how good it is.
Why not think about offering these panna cottas to your guests at the end of the Easter lunch? But then remember it as the ideal solution for the whole beautiful season that is coming.
A fresh and bold dessert.
Serve it with a dusting of bitter cocoa, or, even more delicious, with melted chocolate or with a ganache made from dark chocolate and cream, as I did: chocolate and coffee work very well together, they emphasize each other.
Depending on the season, enrich it with coffee beans coffee or fresh fruit, such as currants, cherries or strawberries, figs or candied orange.
Ingredients
for 10 portions diam. 7 cm
For the base
200 g Caffettuosi coffee biscuits
85 g butter
For the coffee panna cotta
400 g fresh cream
90 g granulated sugar or light and fine cane sugar
6 g gelatine sheets
80 ml coffee in moka with Nobile blend
3 cardamom pods
Chocolate ganache
150 g dark chocolate
150 g fresh cream
Procedure
Preparation of the base
Break the cookies and then put them a little at a time in a mixer until they are reduced to powder.
Melt the butter, pour it on the cookies powder and mix very well to combine them.
Pour the mixture onto a surface covered with baking paper, spread it out well to a thickness of 2/3 mm and compress it with a rolling pin or a meat press so that it is well leveled and compact.
Put it in the fridge to cool for about 30 minutes and then, with a pastry cutter the size of your single-serving mould, or slightly larger, cut the bases and put them in the fridge to rest.
For the panna cotta
Soak the gelatine in cold water for about 5 minutes and prepare a moka pot for 2 people.
In a saucepan, heat the cream with the sugar and the cardamom pods (whole for a more subtle aroma that you will then remove, crushed for a more intense aroma) until it reaches boiling point.
Squeeze the hydrated gelatine and put it in the boiling cream. Also add the hot coffee.
Pour the mixture into the molds. Let it cool, put it in the refrigerator to set and then in the freezer, covered with cling film, so you can unmold them more easily.
For the chocolate ganache
Break up the chocolate, bring the cream to the boil and pour it over the chocolate. Stir quickly until the ingredients are well combined.
The service
Take a small plate and put a drop of ganache to hold the base disk that you will place in the center. Remove the panna cotta from its mold and place it on top of the base. Let it soften a little and then garnish it with the chocolate ganache and serve.
