Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta

Serve this Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta with spiced carrot cake, candied walnuts, golden raisin mostarda, and walnut-ginger ice cream to leave even the pickiest of your dinner guests delighted. This recipe is a four in one, so don’t get overwhelmed. Just take it one part at a time. 

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• Gelatin – 3 sheets                      
• Crème fraîche – 1 1/4 cups (260g)          
• Heavy Cream – 1 13 cups (312g)             
• Sugar – 1/2 cup (100g)                      

Method

• Bloom the gelatin in cold water. Once bloomed, squeeze out the excess water from the gelatin, set aside.
• In a small pot, heat the heavy cream and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the cream begins to steam. Remove from heat.
• Add the gelatin to the hot cream off the heat. Whisk well to incorporate.
• Add the crème fraîche and whisk until smooth.
• Pour into jars, filling halfway.
• Allow the panna cotta to set in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.

 

Spiced Carrot Cake

• Eggs, room temperature          2
• Vegetable Oil – 2/3 cup (150g)                                  
• vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon                      
• All purpose flour – 1 cup (125g)                   
• baking powder – 1 teaspoon     
• baking soda – ½ teaspoon
• cinnamon – 1 teaspoon
• ground ginger – ½ teaspoon
• clove – ¼ teaspoon
• carrot, grated – 1 cup (165g)                          

Method

• Add the grated carrot and fold to combine.
• Sift together the dry ingredients. By hand, fold in the sifted dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until combined.
• Stream in oil and vanilla extract on low speed.
• Using a mixer, whip the eggs and sugar to full volume, about 5 minutes on high speed.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a quarter sheet pan with parchment and grease with butter to prevent sticking.
• Pour into prepared sheet pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.
• Once cool, cut into desired shapes or tear into organically shaped pieces. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

 

Golden Raisin Mostarda

• Golden Raisins – 1 cup
• White Wine – ¼ cup
• sugar – 1 cup
• mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
• salt – ¼ teaspoon

Method

• Bring the white wine, sugar, mustard seeds, and salt to a boil.
• Add the golden raisins, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 2-3 minutes until raisins begin to plump.
• Transfer into a bowl and allow raisins to cool in the liquid.

Candied Walnuts

• Walnuts – 1/2 cup (100g)                     
• Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
• Light brown sugar – 1/4 cup (50g)     
• Sea salt – ¼ teaspoon

Method

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Toss everything together until the walnuts are fully coated in brown sugar.
• Bake for 15 minutes, stirring the nuts every 5 minutes to ensure even baking.

Assembly

• Place two pieces of spiced carrot cake onto chilled panna cotta.
• Add a spoonful of golden raisin mostarda.
• Scatter several candied walnuts over the top. Enjoy!