Posts tagged salted caramel

Pannacotta with salted caramel

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Pannacotta with salted caramel

This was everything you’d could want in a dinner party dessert for a special occasion such as New Years eve where this little treat made a welcome appearance. It’s creamy, sweet, satisfying and elegant and will fill that sweet spot when you think there is just no room left after, perhaps an evening full of decadent dinning and some good fizz. Naturally as the choice for the hidden surprise I had to add salted caramel due to my love of salt and its increasing popularity as the foodie trend of 2012! Served alongside some mini tartlets filled with hazelnut or ginger mascarpone topped with diced pear and shards of honeycomb, I think its safe to say these were crowd pleasers…..

Pannacotta (serves 6)

  • 250ml double cream
  • 250ml milk
  • 1 vanilla pod, seeds removed
  • 2 ½ gelatine leaves
  • 50g caster sugar

Salted Caramel

  • 200ml single cream
  • 125g caster sugar
  • 2 tsp runny honey
  • 2 tsp water
  • Large pinch of maldon salt
  1. Begin with the salted caramel. Place the cream in a saucepan and warm gently on a low heat.
  2. Meanwhile, heat the runny honey in another saucepan for a few minutes. Add the water and the caster sugar and allow to dissolve.
  3. Once dissolved, let it bubble for about 5 minutes and it will begin to turn golden. Watch it closely, giving it a swirl every so often.image
  4. Continue to bubble until golden and caramel coloured. Do not let it get too dark or it will begin to burn and taste bitter.
  5. Once it reaches the right golden colour (being VERY careful as it will splutter at you) stir in 1/3 of the warm cream and stir. Add the rest of the cream and stir, keeping it on the heat and bubbling for about 2 minutes until syrup-like and smooth.
  6. Remove from the heat and leave to cool (this can also be used for smothering over ice cream to heart attack inducing levels or to line a pastry case for a twist on banoffee pie. It also goes really well with salted peanuts, peanut butter or chocolate)image
  7. Now begin on the pannacotta. Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes.
  8. Meanwhile, warm the cream, milk, sugar, vanilla seeds (pop the pod in as well) on a gentle heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring up to the near boil and then remove from the heat. Remove the vanilla pod.
  9. Squeeze the excess water from the softened gelatine leaves and whisk into the the hot cream until dissolved.
  10. Get your serving glasses or ramekins (glass works well as you can see the layers) and spoon about 2 tbsp of cooled salted caramel into each base. Top with the panncotta mixture, carefully to avoid it disturbing the lower layer but this is not a problem if you do.
  11. Place in the fridge and leave to set for a minimum of 3 hours

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Mini sweet pastry tart cases filled with a hazelnut mascarpone and a ginger mascarpone cream, topped with diced pear and honeycomb…..

Caramel Ice Cream with Salted Almond Praline

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Caramel Ice Cream with Salted Almond Praline

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With December now well and truly here, it must be accepted that the gastronomic season has arrived. This pleasingly warrants the excuse for overindulgent food with an extra special touch or time and care wrapped in a blanket of calories and tied up with vast amount of edible guilt. With a welcome invite to a house Christmas meal approaching, and the responsibility of bringing dessert, my creative mind went into a sugary coma. A need to supply my hosts with something to sooth their taste buds and thank them for their hospitality. So to go with my pear, almond and amaretto tart, my love of ice cream was sure to make a chilly appearance. However, with no ice cream maker in the limited freezer in my home away from home in Clifton, I opted for this cheats recipe which is always a great one to have on tap. It doesn’t require churning as it won’t crystalise when freezing and it gives a very rich and creamy texture. A can of condensed milk and some single cream never looked nicer….

Praline

  • 100g caster sugar
  • 20g flaked almonds
  • ½ tsp Maldon Sea Salt

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

  • 1 can condensed milk
  • 300ml single cream
  1. Begin with the cheats ice cream base. Submerge a can of condensed milk in a pan of water on it side and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 ½ hours making sure the water does not dry out and that it is covered (otherwise it could explode…worse things have happened)
  2. Meanwhile, make the praline. Begin by lightly oiling a piece of greaseproof paper.
  3. Now heat a dry frying pan and lightly toast the flaked almonds until tinged and fragrant. Scatter densely over the parchment.
  4. Now, scatter the caster sugar in a dry frying pan in an even, thin layer and turn up the heat.
  5. The sugar should begin to melt within a couple of minutes. Use a plastic spatula to mix in any non-melted areas and any lumps. All the sugar will melt and it will start to turn golden and liquid. Watching all the time as it can burn easily, continue to melt until light golden brown but not burnt!
  6. Quickly, using the spatula, tip the caramel over the almonds on the parchment and scatter quickly with the sea salt while still hot. Leave to cool until solid before breaking into shards.
  7. Once the condensed milk has been boiled it will have turned to caramel. Leave the can to cool before handling.
  8. Mix the cooled caramel with the single cream and beat with a whisk until well combined.
  9. Now, using either a food processor, a pestle and mortar or just a bag and a wooden spoon, coarsely crush your praline into chunks. I left some a bit more whole and some into a powder.
  10. Mix this evenly into the ice cream base and place in the freezer overnight. The praline pieces have a tendency to fall to the bottom so if you can be bothered, freeze half your cream mixture, then scatter over your praline and the remaining mixture and freeze again.
  11. Enjoy your ice cream with an added sprinkle of sea salt if required! I served mine with a pear, almond and amaretto tart.

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PS. This cheats ice cream base is open to interpretation….adding coconut milk instead of cream sprinkling of lime zest is one of my favourites. However, add any other flavours you like. It is quite a soft texture anyway, so adding salt in this case, or alcohol which doesn’t freeze, will make it even softer so bear this in mind before going too heavy handed on the booze!