Matcha Panna Cotta
I make panna cotta when I want a nice creamy custard but have no eggs, don't want to turn on my oven or some combination of the three. Usually, this occurs in the summer months, for some reason. However, I have made exceptions and this is one of them as I've overdosed on madeleines and have a pricey container of matcha powder burning to be experimented with. I halved my normal panna cotta recipe since I'm alone in the house and don't need/want the calories from an entire cup of whipping cream. I used small fluted white ceramic dipping sauce containers for the panna cotta and ended up with 4 servings.
Matcha Panna Cotta (serves 4 x 1/4 cup servings or 3 x 1/3 cup servings)
1/2 cup whipping cream (36 % butterfat)
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp matcha powder
2 tbsp regular sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp (1/2 tbsp) unflavoured gelatin
1-2 tsp honey
In a small bowl sprinkle 1 tbsp cold water over the gelatin. Measure the milk, cream, sugar and salt together in a small saucepan and whisk in the matcha powder. Scald. (You can also whisk all the above in a large microwave safe container and bring just to the boil in the microwave.)
Let the milk/cream mixture cool slightly and stir or whisk some into the gelatin. Then, add the gelatin mixture to the milk mixture.
Add vanilla extract to the milk/cream mixture and let cool for a further 5 minutes. You may want to strain the milk/cream mixture through a fine sieve to make sure the matcha and gelatin is dissolved.
In the meantime, rinse your ramekins or silicone moulds in cold water (or oil lightly with veg oil) if you want to turn out the panna cotta onto a serving plate. Pour the mixture into the ramekins and then place them in the refrigerator to set.
If you have some nice martini glasses or other attractive see through containers you won't have to oil the containers as you can eat your panna cotta directly from the glasses.
NOTE: The whipping cream and milk can be replaced by 1 cup of half and half (18% butterfat). If you want it really rich, use 1/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup whipping cream.
While setting up in the refrigerator much of the matcha powder will settle out of the solution and you will end up with a 3 layer panna cotta with the bottom-most layer being mostly the dark green powder, a medium dark green layer above that while the top most layer will be a pistachio green colour. To reduce the layering, let the containers of panna cotta cool at room temperature for a half hour or so, stirring carefully through the mixture, before refrigerating.
Although I didn't have any gold leaf to decorate my panna cotta this picture is a pretty good representation of the layering that I found though, without the deep rich green of the very expensive matcha powder probably used in the post. :)
Matcha Panna Cotta
Matcha Panna Cotta (serves 4 x 1/4 cup servings or 3 x 1/3 cup servings)
1/2 cup whipping cream (36 % butterfat)
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp matcha powder
2 tbsp regular sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp (1/2 tbsp) unflavoured gelatin
1-2 tsp honey
In a small bowl sprinkle 1 tbsp cold water over the gelatin. Measure the milk, cream, sugar and salt together in a small saucepan and whisk in the matcha powder. Scald. (You can also whisk all the above in a large microwave safe container and bring just to the boil in the microwave.)
Let the milk/cream mixture cool slightly and stir or whisk some into the gelatin. Then, add the gelatin mixture to the milk mixture.
Add vanilla extract to the milk/cream mixture and let cool for a further 5 minutes. You may want to strain the milk/cream mixture through a fine sieve to make sure the matcha and gelatin is dissolved.
In the meantime, rinse your ramekins or silicone moulds in cold water (or oil lightly with veg oil) if you want to turn out the panna cotta onto a serving plate. Pour the mixture into the ramekins and then place them in the refrigerator to set.
If you have some nice martini glasses or other attractive see through containers you won't have to oil the containers as you can eat your panna cotta directly from the glasses.
NOTE: The whipping cream and milk can be replaced by 1 cup of half and half (18% butterfat). If you want it really rich, use 1/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup whipping cream.
While setting up in the refrigerator much of the matcha powder will settle out of the solution and you will end up with a 3 layer panna cotta with the bottom-most layer being mostly the dark green powder, a medium dark green layer above that while the top most layer will be a pistachio green colour. To reduce the layering, let the containers of panna cotta cool at room temperature for a half hour or so, stirring carefully through the mixture, before refrigerating.
Although I didn't have any gold leaf to decorate my panna cotta this picture is a pretty good representation of the layering that I found though, without the deep rich green of the very expensive matcha powder probably used in the post. :)
Matcha Panna Cotta