Panna Cotta with Raspberry Mousse

I even had a student who went on to work at a sorority house in Morgantown who made a dairy-free version for a lactose-intolerant individual. So have fun and experiment, and you’ll have a fancy dessert to serve at your next get-together. Enjoy; stay well.

Ingredients

Panna Cotta

1 ¾ C heavy cream

1 ½ C whole milk

½ C granulated sugar

3 T cold water

• 2 tsp unflavored gelatin; increase gelatin to 3 T if you want to unmold it for presentation

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp kosher salt

Raspberry Mousse

2 C frozen raspberries

¼ C orange juice

2 T cold water

½ C sugar

2 tsp unflavored gelatin

2 C heavy whipping cream

3 T powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 oz fresh raspberries for garnish
• chopped pistachios for garnish

Directions

Panna Cotta

Sprinkle gelatin over three tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes to dissolve, stirring once.

Meanwhile, combine heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan over medium, and cook, whisking often, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is hot, for 4 to 5 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat.

Whisk gelatin mixture into cream mixture until fully dissolved. Pour mixture through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a large measuring cup with a spout; discard solids. Stir in buttermilk. Pour mixture evenly into 6 (6-ounce) ramekins or straight-sided glasses (about 1/2 cup each).

Chill, uncovered, until set, at least 8 hours or up to 2 days. Serve in ramekins.

Raspberry Mousse

Combine the raspberries, orange juice and granulated sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until raspberries have thawed and are starting to bubble. Strain the seeds out with a fine sieve and reserve the juice.

Combine the gelatin and the cold water. Add the gelatin mixture to the raspberry juice. Chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Whip heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Take the chilled raspberry mixture and gently fold the cream into the raspberry mixture, taking care not to crush the whipped cream. Reserve in an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator.

Once the panna cotta has set up, place the mousse in a pastry bag and top each panna cotta with the mousse. Garnish with fresh raspberries and chopped pistachios or shaved chocolate curls if desired.

Panna Cotta recipe courtesy of Chef Allison McCue.

Raspberry Mousse recipe adapted from Raspberry Mousse Recipe: How to Make It (tasteofhome.com)

Natalie Feltz is an Assistant Professor of Culinary Arts at Pierpont Community & Technical College. Nfeltz@pierpont.edu