STRAWBERRY & CREAM PANNA COTTA RECIPE

Panna Cotta means “cooked cream” in Italian. A traditional, easy, and delicious Italian custard originally from the Northern Italian region of Piedmont. Strawberries and cream are a perfect combination. We combined strawberries in the panna cotta mixture to make this softly set, silky smooth Strawberry & Cream Panna Cotta. Panna cottas can be chilled in molds, covered, for up to 2 days. If using agar-agar, mix one teaspoon (2g) agar-agar with the cream, milk, sugar, and heat over medium-high heat and proceed as above. The texture with be not as soft and creamy.

5-1/4 oz. (150g) strawberries
1 cup (250ml) whipping cream
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
1/4 cup (50g) granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons (6g) unflavored powder gelatin, or one teaspoon (2g) agar-agar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 pint (335g) strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/4 cup (42g) granulated sugar

1. Sprinkle the gelatin on 1-1/2 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to dissolve. Place the 1 cup milk, 5-1/4 oz. strawberries, and vanilla in a blender, mix until smooth.
2. Heat the cream and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stirring until it comes to a boil, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add to the softened gelatin stir until dissolved. Stir in the strawberry mixture and then pour the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, stir well.
3. Pour the panna cotta mixture evenly into four six-ounce ramekins or custard cups and refrigerate uncovered until cold. When the panna cottas are thoroughly chilled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set or preferably overnight.
4. Sprinkle strawberries with 1/4 cup sugar; let stand about 1 hour. Serve the panna cotta in the ramekins or to unmold, dip bottom of one ramekin in a bowl of hot water for 3 seconds, wipe the bottom of the ramenkin dry. Run a thin sharp knife around inside edge of each ramekin to loosen. Place a plate over the ramekin, and invert panna cotta onto plate, gently lifting off the ramekin. Serve the panna cotta alone or top the panna cotta with the strawberries and their juice. Makes 4 servings

MAUVIEL COPPER EGG WHITE BEATING BOWL

Professional chefs and enthusiastic home cooks who know quality cookware is everything rely on this Egg White Beating Bowl from Mauviel. Mauviel, a French family business established in 1830 and located in the Normandy town of Villedieu-les-Poeles, is the foremost manufacturer of professional copper cookware in the world today. Highly regarded in the professional world, with over 170 years of experience. Read more

ANGEL FOOD VEGAN MARSHMALLOWS KIT

Fresh marshmallows are the best, but only non-vegans were able to enjoy fresh marshmallows. Not any more! A little company in New Zealand called Angel Food takes the angst out of veganising marshmallows with their do-it-yourself Vegan Marshmallows Kit. It contains all the ingredients to make about 50 good-sized drool-worthy “marshies” (plus the recipes, of course). You just need to add sugar, water, syrup, pure vanilla extract and starch or coconut, and you’re on your way to enjoying the freshest vegan marshmallows! The Vegan Marshmallows Kits are available at www.angelfood.co.nz, and yes, it does not matter in what country you live, they’ll ship worldwide!

We are giving away two Angel Food Vegan Marshmallows Kits. To enter email us and just write the words “MARSHMALLOWS” on the subject line. That’s easy! We will contact the two lucky winners on October 1 for their addresses and Alice Leornard, owner of Angel Food, will send the kit from New Zealand.

CAKELOVE

Warren Brown has a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, and a J.D. and master’s degree from The George Washington University. After establishing a career in health education and law, he realized his calling was baking. In 2002 he opened his bakery, CakeLove, and LoveCafe followed in 2003. He lives in Washington, D.C. Warren Brown wants you to bake your cake and eat it too. And he wants you to conquer your fear of baking cakes and learn to love every step of cake baking including, of course, the step in which you present your made-from-scratch masterpiece to bedazzled, hungry-eyed family and friends.

Every page of CakeLove communicates that satisfaction, as well as Brown’s can-do approach to the art of baking. As he asserts, baking cakes isn’t a cakewalk, but it’s not rocket science, either and getting it right isn’t nearly as hard as you think. Warren Brown provides all the basics on ingredients, equipment, and techniques, as well as recipes for more than 50 cakes that range from the classic (Chocolate Butter Cake) to the adventurous (Sassy, a pound cake made with mango puree and cayenne pepper). The informative step-by-step shots make you want to run to the kitchen and start baking, and the scrumptious color photos of completed cakes look good enough to sink your teeth into. For Brown, love and baking are inseparable!

CakeLove: How to Bake Cakes from Scratch
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Stewart, Tabori & Chang (May 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1584796626

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