Cinnamon pannacotta with apple compote

Cinnamon pannacotta

It had been a while since I last made panna cotta and I think the last flavor I tried was the lemon buttermilk pannacotta which was absolutely fabulous, but I wanted to try something different this time. I used the Panna cotta book from Camilla Saulsbury again and picked the cinnamon variety. The original recipe called for caramel sauce on top but since I am not a huge caramel fan I figured apple would work great with the cinnamon flavors and it did!!

The making of the pannacotta was pretty simple as usual and very quick too. I had bought Kanzi apples which had a lovely sweet and tart flavor that worked really well in the compote. I added only one little bag of vanilla sugar and didn’t need to add anymore as the pannacotta itself was quite sweet so the combination with the tartness of the compote worked fabulously. In terms of color; it’s not the most appealing color for a pannacotta I think, but who cares if the flavor is soooo delicious!

CINNAMON PANNACOTTA WITH APPLE COMPOTE (adapted from Panna Cotta by Camilla Saulsbury)

2,5 cups heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin or 3,5 leaf gelatin

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 cup sour cream

1 vanilla bean or 1,5 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp ground cinnamon

Apple compote (see below)

What I love about Camilla’s recipes is that they are really easy to follow and the flavors are amazing. I have not nearly made all the panna cotta’s in the book since they would kill my waistline, but ok on to this particular recipe. lovely cinnamon flavor!!

Place the cream in a heavy saucepan. Either sprinkle the gelatin over the cream and let stand for 5 minutes or – if you are using leaf gelatin as I was – put them in a bowl with water until they are submerged and let stand for a couple of minutes till the gelatin is softened, squeeze them to remove excess water and then add to the cream.

Add the brown sugar to the saucepan and cook and stir over low heat until both the gelatin and brown sugar are completely dissolved. Make sure not to bring the mixture to a boil. Whisk in the sour cream, vanillaseeds or extract and cinnamon until well blended and smooth.

Pour the mixture into whatever form you fancy. I’ve used regular molds as well as tiny round glasses which I thought looked kind of cute. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and  chill for 4 hours or up to overnight.

Cut around the edges of the panna cotta to loosen. Set each cup in shallow bowl of hot water for 10 seconds. Immediately invert onto a plate. I find that it helps if I then grab the plate and while holding the cup and plate together tightly give it one firm shake which then loosens up the panna cotta nicely. Spoon the apple compote (recipe below) onto the panna cotta and serve with whipped cream if you like.

APPLE COMPOTE

Apples that are not too sweet and not too sour but basically just use whichever you prefer.

Applejuice about 250 ml

lemonjuice

cinnamon

1 packet of vanillasugar or to your taste

You can really add lots of things to the apple compote if you like, such as raisins, cranberries and alcohol. Whatever you feel like. I like mine plain so didn’t add much more then that.

Peel and core the apples and cut them into slices or chunks. Put them in a saucepan and sprinkle with some lemon juice to prevent browning of the apples. Add applejuice and vanillasugar to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook them as long as needed to break down the apple pieces but make sure you still have some pieces left which creates the chunkiness that you want with apple compote. Add cinnamon and taste to see if the apples are sweet enough. If not you can add a little more sugar. enjoy!