Panna cotta is a classic Italian dessert flavored with sweetened cream and fresh milk and thickened with gelatin. Its consistency is almost like a custard or a flan—very light, easy and refreshing on the palate.
“Panna cotta is also a basic dessert base ideal for playing around with various flavors and ingredients,” says chef Dorothy MJ Ferreria. “You can add glazed fruits on top or fresh fruits as filling. Or, add cocoa powder into the mixture so it becomes chocolate panna cotta.”
In this recipe, panna cotta is lusciously blended with cereal milk. Using cereals in food, says Ferreria, has become quite a trend these days. Cereals are added to soups and salads for more texture and crunch, as well as to instant kiddie milk in tetra packs.
Here, cornflakes are first toasted to bring out their natural aroma and taste. You can either put them inside a toaster oven for 5 minutes or in a pre-heat industrial oven at 350ºF. Simply arrange cornflakes in a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until fragrant.
“It’s so easy to prepare, plus you can present the panna cotta in so many ways, depending on your imagination,” says Ferreria, who holds private cooking, baking and cake decorating tutorials (tel. 9618682).
The mixture can be placed in ramekins or shot glasses for a bit of sophistication. You can also use wine or cocktail glasses or tea cups for formal occasions.
Before serving, you can still top it with more cornflakes or maple syrup, or with whipped cream and crumbled Chocnut.
Cereal Milk Panna Cotta
Ingredients
For cereal milk:
3/4 c cornflakes
1 c fresh milk
For Panna Cotta:
2 tsp unflavored gelatin
1/2 c white sugar
1 1/2 c all purpose cream
- IN a medium-heat pan, toast cornflakes for 5 minutes or till fragrant.
- TRANSFER toasted cornflakes into a bowl or pitcher.
- ADD fresh milk. Let steep for 20 minutes.
- STRAIN mixture using a cheesecloth or fine wire strainer, squeezing or pressing with the back of a spoon to get full flavor. Discard the cornflakes.
- IN a saucepan, combine prepared cereal milk, gelatin, sugar and cream.
- PLACE over low heat and stir continuously until gelatin and sugar dissolve completely without boiling.
- TRANSFER mixture to ramekins or shot glasses. Chill to set.
CEREAL Milk Panna Cotta
E-mail the author at vbaga@inquirer.com.ph
