Pannacotta

[OhCobblers]

I'm thinking of making this for the first time ever but a little scared of it!!

firstly, to save me scrolling through every recipe that Google would throw up, do you have an easy receipe for a first timer?

also the recipes that i have read require Dariole moulds which naturally i don't have.
would a plastic cup work as well? i don't have ramekins either?

perhaps rather than turning them out of the moulds i could just serve them in whichever pretty cup/bowl i do have??

thanks for any tips.

It's nice if you can do it properly with the little moulds. I use a Jamie recipe but it is from a magazine cutting.

I have another suggestion though - a similar but much easier pudding is a lemon possett. That is served in a pretty glass as you describe, so it is much less hassle / less can go wrong. I use martini glasses for mine and it also looks nice in little fancy tumblers.

Recipe here. (scroll down)

I'd say the whole point of pannacotta is that it is turned out

if you have pretty cups/bowls why not do creme caramel or creme brulée instead

FP i'd been throwing around the idea of a lemon dessert instead, and found a Fay Ripley one that i liked. unfortunately that involved ramekins in the oven (needed to be baked) which i couldn't do. Serving in glasses sounds much easier. Thanks for the recipe. do you know if this could be made the day before serving?

Catsmamma i'd thought of a creme brulee too but would need ramekins for that too as i wanted to make individual ones - might just see if i can get some cheapy ones from TKMaxx or similar - seems they're going to worthwhile to have around!

or you can buy and eat those gu puddings!

puddings and dishes to save! :D

tesco are quite good for odd dishes, not hugely dear.

Go buy some ramekins. You know you want to.

Jamies recipe works well - I use the one he does with rhubarb (and obviously don't have to do it with the rhubarb) here

I second creme brulee - always fab and fairly reliable. And great with fruit in the bottom - raspberries my favourite but not the right time of year obviously!

Yuk to any lemon dessert but realise I am a bit of a freak on this score - everyone else I know loves them. So, as long as it's not me you're having over then sounds a good idea!

Everyone needs ramekins I have a cupboard full which I ought to sort out, and lots were gu puds once

Wasn't there a very long thread once about ramekins? I don't think I ever read it but it is mentioned from time to time, like the pombear thread!

OC Yes to make it the day before. Perfect for it. That is the main reason it is my standard dinner party pudding!

PS. I would hesitate to use ramekins for pannacotta. I think it is easier with a thin walled metal pudding mould. Reason being that in order to turn out the pudding you need to slightly heat the outside of the dish in order for it to come away from the sides. This is nearly impossible in a thick sided ramekin.

Although naturally I will stand corrected if some other MNer is a whizz at this!

Yes sorry you're right FP - ramekins for creme brulee not pannacotta. I use those thin metal moulds for pannacotta because as you say you need to warm them slightly (I put them under the hot tap) to get them out.

I think I bought those in Lakeland though which if you want them today might be a problem.

have just been perusing the Lakeland site and they have the silicone cupcake moulds.
they say "these flexible silicone moulds are also great for individual jellies or mousses".

in which case they should surely be ok for the pannacotta to set in???
i have lots of these

These are what I have. I've not tried a silicone mould but someone else might be able to help?

IMO panna cotta tastes just as good whether it is turned out or not! I've made it in the little moulds (turned out), in ramekins (not turned out) and in little glasses.

It's lovely whatever you do, and very easy indeed. You just soak the gelatin, heat the cream with the sugar and vanilla, let it cool slightly and then stir in the gelatin and pour into your moulds. Then you put it in the fridge and wait. That's it!

You can serve it with any sauce you like, though it goes particularly well with slight sour flavours like raspberry, or bitter ones like coffee.

This BBC recipe looks as good as any (though I use all cream usually rather than cream + milk).

right, decision made!!
PP i will buy those if i come across them cheap in TK MAxx / £land etc!!
GG you've convinced me to make it and not both turning them out and that BBC recipe looks great. i think i might even have been watching SFTW when they made it!!

any chance i can make it the night before or is it best the morning of?

thanks v much!

bother

oh and i will read my own thread properly! fannypriceless says i can make the day before so i won't argue with that!

Oh I was talking about lemon possett when I said that. But it is equally true for pannacotta.

Best of luck!

Vegetarian pannacotta is virtually impossible, Agar Agar too tempremental to use. Rose elliot suggests using the powder part of Greens Creme Caramel mix and sincle cream instead of milk to make something similar - I add the contents of a vanilla pod too, it is really delicious, a bit like pannacotta and really easy to do.