Sunday, February 27, 2011

Daring Bakers - Panna Cotta with Passionfruit Gelee and Florentines



Do you like to make the classic dishes?  I enjoy making for myself dishes that are the stuff of legend due to their popularity.  The panna cotta (cooked cream) dessert comes into that category, and this month, courtesy of the Daring Bakers, I made it for the first time.

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies. 

Now a florentine in Australia is quite different to this florentine recipe, which  I would more describe as a chocolate coated lace cookie:


They are delicious cookies, but very fragile - if you don't eat them fresh out of the oven, they lose all their crispness and crunchiness.

My panna cotta are topped with a passionfruit gelee for a tropical summer feel.  Queen Vic Market obligingly had passionfruit at 8 for $2.  I used the gelee recipe here.

I decided to make my life difficult by moulding my panna cotta in silicon heart shaped moulds:


I thought it was a cute idea, but I didn't figure on how hard they would be to get out of the moulds intact.  I lost 3 along the way, so it was definitely a scary time when I was unmoulding these.  However, the end result is worth it:



Pretty, yes?

There is a veritable rainbow of different sized, shaped and presented panna cottas and florentines from the Daring Bakers this month - you can check them out by viewing the slide show here (on the 27th US time).

17 comments:

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Oh is it that time already! I sadly didn't have time for DB this month but I'm loving everyone's creations!

. said...

I love the heart shape PC! They look delish!

adele said...

Oh, these are charming!

But I know that sensation you describe - standing in the kitchen with the sudden dawning realization of having made my life more difficult - all too well. :)

Flourchild said...

Wow these look so good! I love all these yummy different treats your making! I need to step out of my comfort zone of baking cookies and cakes and make some yummy treats like these and that Tart!!

Renata said...

So cute! I love passionfruit and this must've been delicious! So are the Florentines! Great job!

Anonymous said...

These desserts look very pretty and definitely worthy of a daring bakers challenge. Great work!

Johanna GGG said...

very pretty - though I was surprised to see how different those florentines are to ours - I prefer more of a chocolate hit myself but they do look dainty

cocoa and coconut said...

What an amazing combination of flavours and textures. I think this is just gorgeously presented.

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Sometimes things strike one a little late. I've had many of those moments but if you can recover then all's well.
You have done it well, I'd say. Heart shaped panna cotta is a great idea.

Elaine said...

Your heart-shaped panacotta is so pretty! I am glad you were able to get some of them out of the molds. I also like the pattern on your florentines.

Mary said...

They are beautiful, and I bet they tasted amazing! I love passionfruit and bought ONE the other day for $2! Cheaper than a plane ticket to Australia, I guess.
:)

Finla said...

They indeed look cute and yumm. When i make in silicon mould, i dip the mouldin hot water for few seconds then they come out easily.

The Betz Family said...

Your Panna Cotta's look great! I'm not big on passionfruit but I love the molds and the seeds that re in the gelee. Nice job on the challenge!

♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...

I love heart desserts and u have paired them wonderfully with the pretty passion fruit!

Merut said...

I have never had passionfruit before! I am sure it is one of those exotic looking fruits that hangs around the produce section. I love the heart-shaped panna cotta. Looks delicious! Good job.

Unknown said...

Your panna cottas look sooo cute! I have never made panna cotta before either but will be making them more often!
BTW I love your alfajores!

chef_d said...

Yes, definitely very pretty! Love your presentation! Great job on this challenge!