Coffee Panna Cotta
Panna cotta al caffèPAN-na KOT-ta al kaf-FEH
A pale coffee cream that holds its shape on the plate and trembles when you touch it, under a pour of bitter espresso caramel. The art is in using as little gelatine as you can get away with.
At a glance
- Gelatine : cream
- 1:150
- Active time
- 20 min
- Total time
- 300 min
- Makes
- 6 moulds
- Serve
- Chilled
- Kit
- Pudding moulds
Ingredients
Note: Gelatine strengths vary by brand and grade. Check the packet for how much sets 500 ml softly and scale it to 650 ml.
Method
-
Infuse the cream
Heat the cream, milk, sugar and crushed beans until steaming, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Take it off the heat, cover, and leave it to infuse for 30 minutes.
Infuse 30 minutes -
Soak the gelatine
Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for five minutes until soft and floppy.
Soak 5 minutes -
Strain, reheat and add the gelatine
Strain the beans out of the cream and rewarm it until hot but not boiling, about 70°C. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine and stir it in until it disappears.
Boiling weakens gelatine. Hot is enough to dissolve it.
-
Cool over ice, then pour
Stand the pan in iced water and stir until it thickens slightly and cools to room temperature. Pour into lightly oiled moulds.
Cooling first stops the beans' last fine particles and the cream's fat separating into layers as it sets.
-
Chill until set
Chill for at least four hours, or overnight.
Chill 4 hours -
Make the espresso caramel
Heat 100 g of sugar in a dry pan until it melts to a deep amber. Off the heat, pour in the hot espresso carefully, it will spit, and stir until smooth. Cool.
5 to 6 minutes -
Unmould and serve
Dip each mould in hot water for five seconds, run a thin knife round the top edge and turn out onto a plate. Spoon the caramel over.
Why this works
Panna cotta is a gel. Gelatine is collagen protein that dissolves in hot liquid, then, as it cools, its long molecules partly reform their triple-helix structure and tangle into a network that traps the cream. The less gelatine, the weaker the network and the softer the set. A good panna cotta uses just enough to hold its shape when turned out, so that it trembles and melts on the tongue. Too much and it bounces.
Gelatine also melts close to body temperature, around 35°C, which is why a panna cotta with the right amount dissolves in your mouth rather than being chewed. Boiling the cream after the gelatine goes in breaks those protein chains and weakens the set, which is why it is stirred in at around 70°C.
Infusing crushed beans rather than adding brewed coffee keeps the water content low and the flavour clean. Coffee's aromatic oils dissolve readily in fat, so cream extracts them well. Thirty minutes off the heat gives a clear coffee flavour without the harsh bitterness a long hot steep brings.
The espresso caramel balances the dish. Caramel taken to deep amber is bitter as well as sweet, and the espresso adds roast and acidity, so the sauce cuts through the fat of the cream. Panna cotta, cooked cream, comes from Piedmont, and it is a twentieth-century restaurant dessert more than an old family one. Coffee is one of the most natural flavours for it.
Variations
- Espresso panna cotta: 60 ml of strong espresso stirred in with the gelatine, in place of the beans, for a darker colour.
- In glasses: set in small glasses with no unmoulding, which needs only two leaves of gelatine.
- With a coffee jelly layer: set a layer of coffee jelly on top.
- Vegan: coconut cream and 1.5 g of agar, boiled for two minutes.
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Questions
How much gelatine for panna cotta?
About 5 g, or two and a half platinum-grade leaves, for 650 ml of cream and milk, for a soft set that just holds when turned out. Use three leaves for a firmer set.
Why did my panna cotta not set?
Too little gelatine, or it was boiled after the gelatine went in, which weakens it. Stir gelatine into hot, not boiling, cream.
How do you get panna cotta out of the mould?
Dip the mould in hot water for about five seconds, run a thin knife round the top edge, then turn it over onto a plate and give it a gentle shake.
Can I make panna cotta with agar?
Yes, but agar must be boiled for a minute or two to activate and gives a firmer, less wobbly set. Use about 1.5 g for 650 ml.