DB Challenge February: I "heart" Panna Cotta

Even though I am posting today I actually managed to finish this challenge early. Like super early. I am pre-writing this post because I am out of town at the moment. Today is actually Feb. 5th, 2011.

I was pretty excited when I saw this month's challenge.

1. because I have been wanting to get over my fear of this dessert and..

2. because I had extra gelatin left over from last month's challenge.

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.

This challenge was nice because it offered a lot of freedom of expression.

I decided to go full tilt this month. I made 2 flavours of panna cotta.

The first:

Vanilla Bean & Wildflower Honey

The second:

Mexican Chocolate ( nice hints of chili and cinnamon)

The only thing I was pretty disappointed in was the florentine recipe. They looked good but really didn't strike me as the typical sugary, lacy, crispy texture I was used to. So I did go to a different recipe for the cookies.

The fillings were 2 kinds as well.

With the vanilla panna cotta I just did a Nutella filling.

For the chocolate panna cotta I did a caramel filling.

Vanilla Panna Cotta (Giada de Laurentis Recipe):

1 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon (one packet) unflavored powdered gelatin

3 cups whipping cream (30+% butterfat)

1/3 cup honey

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise an beans removed

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk wait. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.

2. Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. (I whisk it a few times at this stage).

3. Next, add the cream, honey, sugar, vanilla beans and pod and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved 5-7 minutes.

4. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Take out vanilla pod, discard.Then pour into the glass or ramekin.

5. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.

Add garnishes and serve.

Mexican Chocolate Panna Cotta:

1 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon unflavored powdered gelatin

2 cups whipping cream (30+% butterfat)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp chili powder

1⁄2 cup sugar

3⁄4 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Pour milk into a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the top, set aside for 2-5 minutes.

2. Place a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir in cream, cinnamon, chili, sugar and vanilla. Bring to a low boil.

3. Add chocolate and whisk until melted. Whisk the milk/gelatin mixture into chocolate cream mixture. Whisk until gelatin has dissolved.

4. Transfer to ramekins, or nice glasses for serving.

5. Cover and chill at least 8 hours, or overnight