Panna Cotta...The Fancy Lady's Dessert

The 2011 Daring Bakers' Challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada de Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Have you tried Panna Cotta before?

Not only had I never tried Panna Cotta prior to this month's Daring Baker's Challenge, but I wasn't even sure what it was. To be honest, I always assumed it was somehow related to Pannetone.

Unlike the massive culinary flop I produced for last month's Daring Bakers' Challenge, this cooking adventure went much smoother. And, I discovered that I love Panna Cotta. It reminds me of a smooth, honey-infused ice cream, which makes perfect sense since the Italian translation is literally "cooked cream."

I boiled my favorite aspects of this dessert down to three simple points:

1) It's super easy: With only 6 main ingredients, plus fruit for garnish, this recipe was a snap to make.

2) It's ridiculously elegant: Nothing says fancy-schmancy like dessert served in a wine glass.

3) It tastes fabulous: We all know I'm an ice cream fanatic, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Panna Cotta tastes like the sister food of my favorite cold, creamy treat.

The cookies were a fun addition to this recipe, and really round out the presentation nicely, although they were pretty butter-intense (but hey, what's a little butter between friends?)

Eat up, dear friends! Now you have something new to share at your next dinner party :)

Panna Cotta with Nestle Florentine Cookies

This dessert would fit perfectly at the end of an elegant dinner party, or a summer cook-out on your back porch.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 TBSP unflavored gelatin
• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 TBSP granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• For garnish: strawberries and Nestle Florentine Cookies

Directions:

1) Pour cold milk into a bowl. Sprinkle gelatin in a thin, even layer on top of the milk and set aside for about 5 - 10 minutes.

2) Pour milk into a saucepan and heat gently on medium heat for about 5 minutes--the mixture should be hot but NOT boiling. Add the cream, honey, vanilla and sugar and continue heating and stirring for about 5 - 10 minutes until the sugar and honey have completely dissolved and the mixture is hot (but NOT boiling). Remove from heat.

3) Pour the mixture into wine glasses or ramekins and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Garnish with strawberries if desired, and Florentine Cookies.