Chocolate and blood orange panna cotta

By: Laura Cassai
From: My Italian Kitchen
Serves: 6
Photographer: Chris Middleton

Panna cotta, meaning cooked cream, is such a lovely traditional Italian dessert, and here I have showcased the beautiful combination of chocolate, orange and hazelnut. Panna cotta is a great dessert to show off with at a dinner party for your friends, and can be made the night before! You don’t have to make it as fancy as this one. If you want to simplify it, use this recipe as a base, but add vanilla beans and serve it with fresh berries.

Chocolate panna cotta

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
2	gold-strength gelatine leaves
or 1 1/2 teaspoons	gelatine powder, dissolved in 60 ml of boiling water
660ml	thickened cream
40g	caster sugar
220g	milk chocolate, chopped finely

Blood orange jelly

Quantity	Ingredient
400ml	blood orange juice
4	gold-strength gelatine leaves
or 4 teaspoons	gelatine powder

Blood orange curd

Quantity	Ingredient
2	eggs
230g	caster sugar
1	blood orange, finely zested
80ml	blood orange juice
125g	unsalted butter, cubed

Hazelnut crumb

Quantity	Ingredient
110g	hazelnut meal
75g	plain flour
115g	caster sugar
95g	soft brown sugar
100g	unsalted butter, melted

To garnish

Quantity	Ingredient
	strawberries, halved and whole
	raspberries, halved and whole
	blood orange, segmented, membrane removed

Method

For the panna cotta, soak the gelatine leaves in ice-cold water until soft, about 5–10 minutes. When it’s time to add to the panna cotta mixture, squeeze the excess water out of the gelatine leaves first. If you’re using gelatine powder instead, dissolve the powder in the boiling water.
To make the blood orange jelly, pour the juice into a saucepan and set over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, remove from the heat, add the gelatine and stir until dissolved. Allow to cool. Pass through a sieve, and pour equal amounts into six 150 ml dariole moulds. Set in the fridge on a tray for about 45 minutes. To speed up the process, place in the freezer for 10 minutes until set.
To make the panna cotta, pour the cream and sugar into a saucepan and set over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, remove from the heat, add the chopped chocolate and whisk until it is all combined. Add the gelatine and stir until dissolved. Strain through a fine sieve and allow to cool slightly. Pour over the already set blood orange jelly, then place back in the fridge to set for about 4 hours. Note: The panna cotta can be made the day before and set overnight.
To make the blood orange curd, set up a double boiler. Add the eggs and sugar and whisk until slightly thickened and creamy. Add the blood orange zest and juice and continue to whisk for about 10–15 minutes until the mixture thickens. Once thickened, add the butter cubes one at a time until glossy and all incorporated. Leave to cool, then refrigerate.
Preheat the oven to 220°C.
For the hazelnut crumb, mix the hazelnut meal, flour, both sugars and the melted butter in a bowl until all combined. Spread on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 20–25 minutes until golden and crunchy. Check the crumb every 10 minutes and turn the mixture over to ensure nothing is burning.
When it’s time to serve, transfer the panna cotta from the moulds onto serving plates, add the curd and crumb, and garnish with fresh berries and blood orange segments.