This is a delicious variation on a classic panna cotta. The combination came about when I collaborated with JR Ryall, the pastry chef at Ballymaloe House, for a dinner that we work on every autumn.
Ingredients
The entire dessert can be made a day in advance and chilled and will keep happily for a few days, although the sooner you eat it, the more delicious it will be.
We served the mousse in a tall glass pedestal bowl and it looked wonderful, but you can of course use whatever dish you really like.
Serve with langues de chat biscuits for a special treat. If I am serving this dish in summer or autumn, I often accompany it with a bowl of fresh raspberries.
Serves 6–8
- 600ml cream
- 50g caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod, split in half lengthways
- 2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
- 3 tablespoons cold water
Espresso jelly
- 1¼ teaspoons powdered gelatine
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 45g caster sugar
- approx. 200ml very strong hot filter coffee
Method
Put the cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with the sugar and split vanilla pod. Put the pan on a low heat and bring to the shivery stage.
Meanwhile, sponge the gelatine in the cold water for a few minutes in a Pyrex or pottery bowl. I prefer not to use plastic or stainless steel here, as the gelatine can overheat more easily and stick to those lighter, thinner surfaces. The gelatine will take on a sponge-like appearance.
Place the bowl of sponged gelatine into a saucepan of barely simmering water and allow to dissolve until it looks completely clear. There is no need to stir it at this stage. As soon as the mixture is clear, add the warm cream to the gelatine, stirring all the time.
Now strain the cream mixture through a fine sieve to remove the vanilla pod. If necessary, squeeze the pod to extract more vanilla seeds into the cream. Allow the cream to cool to room temperature before pouring into your serving dish or dishes. To save time, the hot cream can be stirred over an ice bath to cool it down faster. Allowing the cream to cool before decanting it into the serving dish will prevent the vanilla seeds from pooling in
the bottom of the bowl. Instead, they will stay in suspension and look much prettier, especially if you are serving the mousse in a glass bowl.
Place in the fridge and allow to set fully. This will take at least 2 hours.
While the cream is setting, make the espresso jelly. Sponge the gelatine in the water and dissolve as above in gently simmering water until clear.
Place the sugar in a measuring jug and add enough hot coffee until there is exactly 200ml in total. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then add the sweetened coffee to the gelatine, stirring all the time.
Allow the coffee to cool completely but remain liquid. Again, you can speed this up by placing the bowl of coffee in an ice bath. Carefully spoon the cooled – but not yet set – coffee jelly onto the set vanilla mousse. Return to the fridge and allow to set fully, which will take about 3 hours.
