Indulgence……… It’s the only way to describe this dessert.

Delicious, sweet, textural bliss.

If your looking for a dessert that can be completely pre prepared but will totally impress, well everyone,  this is the recipe.

There are five components to this dish, Vanilla Pannacotta, Rose gelle, strawberry anise syrup, Lavender Tuile, Lemon sherbert Marshmallow (meringue), but you can make as little or as many as you would like.

I wanted to show a few of the different ways you can plate. The easiest was the stemless wine glass. The more time fiddly and temperamental was the plate. The plate looks more manufactured, precise and calculated, although impressive. I actually prefer the wine glasses, but I’m all about comfort and homeliness and these seem warmer and more inviting, plus you get more of the rosé gelee.

The dessert is garnished with baby mint leaves and mint blossom (thanks to my over achieving mint plant). If you haven’t tried to use mint blossoms you definitely should. The stem blossom is made up of tiny and delicate snow white flowers, that have a beautifully floral mint flavour. I just pull the tiny flowers off the stem blossom.

 

Vanilla Pannacotta

470ml milk

115g caster sugar

1 vanilla pod

250g cream

5 sheets or 15g geletine

Strawberry Anise Syrup

1 250g punnet strawberries

170g caster sugar

2 star anise

Rosé Gelee

100ml Rosé wine

100ml Strawberry anise syrup

1 sachet geletine

Lavender Tuile

1 egg white

50g Melted Butter

50g Caster sugar

50g Gluten free plain flour

Lemon Sherbert Marshmallow Meringue

1 egg white

1/4 cup caster sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 cup gf icing mixture

 

For Pannacotta:

Place milk, sugar and split and scraped vanilla bean into a saucepan over medium low heat, heating until sugar has dissolved and milk is steaming and just below boiling. Leave to infuse for 20 minutes.

Place the geletine leaves in a bowl of cold water to soften.

Remove the vanilla pods from the infused milk, and reheat to steaming and below boiling. Squeeze out excess water from the geletine leaves and add to the hot milk, whisking until fully dissolved.

Stir in the cream until fully incorporated.

Strain through a fine sieve. Pour into your molds / wine glasses / cups.

Leave to set in the refridgerator for at least 4 hours or until set, but preferably over night.

For Strawberry Anise Syrup:

Put a saucepan of water on the stove and heat to a rolling boil.

Wash and hull 1 punnet of strawberries, then roughly slice and place in a heat proof bowl.

Add sugar and star anise to the bowl with the sugar.

Place the bowl over the pan of water (making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water) and heat for 30 mins until sugar has dissolved and become syrupy.

Strain through a sieve. (don’t press the fruit!! it will produce a cloudy syrup) Allow to cool. Reserve 100ml of syrup for rose gelee.

Rosé gelee:

Put rosé in sauce pan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and add geletine stirring until dissolved.

Add the 100ml reserved stawberry anise syrup and stir. Allow to cool but not set (just below room temp).

Either pour into mold or on top of the pannacotta. Allow to set at least 4 hours, ideally over night.

Lavender Tuile:

Preheat oven to 160C. Line 2 trays with silicone paper.

Melt butter in microwave in 30 second incriments until melted. Allow to cool slightly.

Combine flour, sugar, egg white and melted butter and mix until thoroughly combined.

Chill for 20 minutes.

Using a spatula spread the batter in long strokes to get even(ish) lines about 2cm wide and 30cm long. (I did 2 to a tray)

Sprinkle with the dried lavender flowers.

Bake for 10 – 15 minutes. Keep checking them after 10 minutes. They are ready when golden brown.

Working quickly, with a spatula, peel the biscuit off and shape around a rolling pin. Allow to cool and set.

Keep in an air tight container will last a few days.

Lemon sherbert marshmallow:

In a stand mixer, whisk egg white until firm peaks.

Add lemon juice and 1/3 sugar and whisk for 2 mins.

Add 1/3 sugar and whisk for 2 minutes.

Add remaining sugar and whisk until stiff peaks.

Add the icing mixture and whisk until stiff.

Place mixture into a piping bag ready for assembly.

Pipe the meringue on to plate or in glass and quickly blow torch to scorch.

To serve:

Add some washed and sliced fresh strawberries and scatter baby mint leaves and blossoms.

 

Notes:

The sherbert is quite stable and will most probably withstand the night in a piping bag in the fridge (mine did thanks to the lemon and the cornflour in the icing mixture), however I would recommend that you make it just before guess arrived.

You will need a little blow torch to toast the meringue, head down to your local hardware or home ware store. A piping bag with a small round tip, you could just use a sandwich bag and trim the corner off or make one from baking paper, but for the record I if you do a lot of baking a really good quality piping bag should be in your kit. I love mine, it’s been with me through many baking days and disasters.

Star anise is a liquorice flavoured spice. You can get it form most major supermarkets, Indian spice grocers or online.

Dried Lavender can be purchased online or exotic tea suppliers.

I encourage you to be creative with your presentation. Use random jars or pretty tea cups. Try floating the gelee ontop of the syrup. Try crumbling the tuile and having crumbs. If you try it…. How about posting a photo to my twitter here or instagram me here……

I am all about using every little thing you can from your food,  so your going to have two egg yolks left over, don’t throw them away or give them to the dogs, I have the perfect recipe for them ice cream anyone…….