Pear Trilogy – Part III – Pear Espresso Panna Cotta

Here we are. It’s time for the third and last part of the Pear Trilogy. After the Pear Espresso Trifles, I totally fall in love with that flavor combination and I decided to try it out again. I think unconsciously I felt attracted to this combo of ingredients a long time ago before because I remember seeing a Pear Espresso Panna Cotta recipe on an old Donna Hay Magazine (for sure a couple of years old!) at a friend’s house and writing it down….for the future. I’m so happy I wrote down this recipe. I’m so so so happy I finally decided to try it!

I don’t know if I have the right words to explain how amazing this dessert is. The pear espresso flavors are combined in such a perfect proportion! It truly is a grown ups desserts but still so playful. I think the syrup needed to be a bit more dense than what I obtained but at the same time I’m glad it turned out that way because we had a lot of pear-espresso syrup to dip the panna cotta in.

If you are not attracted by the pear espresso combination, don’t just leave! This is by far the best home-made panna cotta I’ve ever had so I’m sure I’ll make it again with other flavors and twists! Just suffice to say (as I tweeted that day) that I barely had time to take pictures. Wally, surely not the kind of person who goes nuts for these types of desserts, ate one of this in the first 5 mintues they were unmolded.

One final note: when I made them, I felt there was way too much panna cotta compared to pear espresso syrup. I completely filled up my two big ramekins and thought “next time, I will split the panna cotta mixture into 3 or 4 smaller ramekins”. Well, after I tried it, I thought it was perfect to have so much panna cotta compared to pears and syrup, otherwise the espresso flavor would have been overwhelming.

Final final note: this recipe is ridiculously simple! So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and try this recipe.

Pear and Espresso Panna Cotta

Ingredients

Yields 2 servings

80 ml (2.6 fl oz or 1/3 cup) espresso coffee

80 gr (2.6 fl oz or 1/3 cup) sugar

1 small pear, peeled, cored and cut into thin slices

30 ml (2 tbsp) milk

10 gr (2 tsp) powdered gelatine

240 ml (8 fl oz or 1 cup) whipping cream

240 ml (8 fl oz or 1 cup) milk

75 gr (2.58 oz or 1/3 cup) brown sugar

5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract

Method

Place the coffee and the sugar in a small saucepan over low heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Please, please, please: use good espresso not drip coffee!

Add the pear slices and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender and the syrup has thickened slightly.

Place the pears on the base of 2 lightly greased ramekins. Pour the syrup evenly over them and allow to cool at room temperature.

Put the gelatine and the 2 tbsp of milk in a small bowl. Stir to combine and let stand for 2-3 minutes, until the gelatine has dissolved.

Place the cream, the extra milk, the brown sugar and the vanilla extract in a pot over medium heat and bring to boil. Remove from the heat, add the gelatine and whisk to combine. Set aside to cool.

Slowly pour the cream mixture over the pears and syrup. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours over overnight.

If you have a hard time unmolding the panna cotta from the ramekins, run the bottom and side of the ramekins under hot water for a couple of minutes. I still had to shake them pretty hard but they eventually unmolded without breaking.

Have a sweet day!

Adapted from Donna Hay Magazine