Chocolate Panna Cotta

from ButterYum

makes 6 servings

Ingredients

    • 2 cups whole milk

    • 1 tablespoon unflavored granulated gelatin (see notes)

    • 1/2 cup heavy cream

    • 3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (see notes)

    • 3 tablespoons dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted

    • 1/3 cup granulated sugar

    • 6 ounces mascarpone (or cream cheese)

    • 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur (optional)

    • garnish: whipped cream, fresh fruit, chocolate curls, etc

Directions

    1. Prepare six 6-ounce custard cups by using a paper towel to apply a very thin coat of neutral-flavored oil to the inside of the cups (no need if you don’t plan to unmold the panna cotta).

    2. In a small bowl, combine gelatin and 1/4 cup of the milk, use a fork or small whisk tog combine well and break up clumps; set aside to “bloom” for at least 5 minutes.

    3. In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and 1/2 cup milk until smooth.

    4. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the bloomed gelatin, cocoa mixture, and all remaining ingredients except optional liqueur; whisk constantly until it almost reaches a boil (don’t let it boil).

    5. Remove from heat and stir in optional liqueur; if bits of unmelted chocolate or mascarpone remain, use immersion blender to smooth out mixture (or strain through a fine mesh sieve).

    6. Pour mixture into prepared custard cups and chill for at least 6 hours before turning the panna cotta out of the cups (see notes below).

Notes

    • Cover filled custard cups with plastic wrap if there are strong odors in your refrigerator.

    • For best results, serve within 48 hours.

    • Do not allow mixture to boil - that will lessen the effectiveness of the gelatin.

    • I usually suggest bar chocolate over chips, but for this recipe, feel free to use your favorite high quality chocolate chips.

    • You only need to oil the custard cups if you plan to unmold the panna cotta from the custard cups.

    • If you’re in a hurry, the panna cotta will be firm enough to serve after just 4 hours of chilling, but it won’t be firm enough to unmold so plan to serve it in the custard cups.

    • For reference: 1 packet of Knox gelatin contains about 2 1/2 teaspoons of gelatin (although the amount in each packet is very inconsistent).

    • Three sheets of leaf gelatin can be substituted for the 1 tablespoon of granulated gelatin called for in this recipe. If using sheet gelatin, soak in cold water for 5-10 minutes and squeeze out excess water before adding in step #4 above.

adapted from Chef Jean-Pierre