Asian people are celebrating Mooncake Festival. Some makes mooncake; traditional food for this celebration. I don’t really celebrate it but will eat the mooncakes bought by my parents and gifts from friends. I thought why not make panna cotta using the mooncake moulds from my mother as my friend invited me to celebrate with her and a few other friends; of course they know me love desserts.
Google: “The Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, marked by a full moon. It emphasizes family reunions with gatherings to eat mooncakes, admire the moon, and light lanterns, symbolizing peace and togetherness. The festival concludes the autumn harvest and involves exchanging sweet round cakes as gifts, expressing gratitude to the gods, and celebrating family unity through various traditions.”
“Panna cotta is a versatile Italian dessert made from sweetened, gelatin-thickened cream, often incorporating seasonal fruits or alternative milks. It offers gut health benefits through ingredients like probiotic yogurt and coconut milk, while the gelatin aids digestion and pairing with berries enhances antioxidant content. This dessert accommodates various dietary needs and is easy to prepare.”
“Blueberries are popular perennial plants in the genus Vaccinium, known for their blue or purple berries. They are considered a “superfood,” being low in calories and highly nutritious, making them a favoured fruit for many.”
I am going to surprise my friends by making panna cotta in mooncake moulds. My panna cotta sure does looks cute, creative, and delicious. Let’s celebrate Mooncake Festival with a twist of ingredients!!!
Ingredients
Thickened cream milk panna cotta
1 1/2 c skim milk
1 1/2 c thickened cream
3 Tsp gelatin powder
1 Tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c granulated sugar
Lighter skim milk panna cotta with blueberries
14 g unflavoured powdered gelatin
20 ml skim milk
980 ml water
160 g castor sugar
1 Tsp vanilla extract
80 g blueberries
Method
Thickened cream milk panna cotta
Grease the oil on all 6 mooncake moulds, then use a paper towel to wipe off most of the oil, leaving only a light residue. Set aside.
Pour the milk into the pot and sprinkle the powdered gelatin evenly over the top in a single layer. Be sure not to pile it up as that will prevent the crystals from dissolving properly. Let it soften for 5-10 minutes or until the surface of the milk is wrinkled and the gelatin grains look wet and slightly dissolved.
Place the pot over low heat and warm the milk gently, stirring frequently. The milk should never boil or simmer; if you see steam, remove the pot from the stove and let it cool down. The milk should get hot, but not so hot that you can’t leave your finger in the pot for a few seconds. The gelatin will dissolve quickly as the milk warms; it melts at body temperature, so this step should go quickly.
After about 2 minutes of warming, rub a bit of the milk between your fingers to make sure it’s smooth. Or dip a spoon in the milk and check the back for distinct grains of gelatin. Stir sugar into the gelatin milk and continue warming until it dissolves well. It shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes total to dissolve both the gelatin and sugar. Again, never let the mixture boil. Remove the pot from the heat. Whisk in the thickened cream and vanilla extract. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared mooncake moulds. Refrigerate overnight. The best place for the panna cotta is in the fridge overnight for easier unmoulding.
Lighter skim milk panna cotta with blueberries
Grease the mooncake moulds with oil and put 4 blueberries into the mooncake moulds. Set aside. In a bowl mix sugar, and unflavoured gelatine powder well. Bring skim milk, vanilla extract, and water in a big pot to boil with sugar mixture, until foams floating up and sugar dissolved. Remove foams.
Pour into a jar for easy to pour into the moulds. Let it sit in room temperature for 5 minutes before transferring to fridge to set overnight.
When you are about to serve, fill a large bowl partway with warm water. Wipe the plate with a damp paper towel (a damp plate lets you reposition the panna cotta more easily if it doesn’t fall in the right spot). Run a toothpick carefully around the sides of the mooncake moulds. Don’t slide the toothpick all the way into the mooncake moulds; just release the top edge of the panna cotta from the edge of the moulds. Dip the mould in the warm water halfway, and hold it there for about 3 seconds.
Invert the mould over the plate and press gently with your fingers to help slide it out. It should fall out onto the plate easily. (If it does not, return to the warm water bath in increments of 2 seconds.) Serve immediately.
Note: From one of the recipes I browsed, it says: can be refrigerated, though you have to lightly cover it, for up to 5 days. The gelatin gets stronger as it sits, so this will be a bit rubbery by days 4 or 5, but you can mitigate this by letting the panna cotta sit at room temperature for about half an hour before serving.
Troubleshooting Panna Cotta
The panna cotta is still liquid! Perhaps the gelatin didn’t melt all the way, or you accidentally boiled the mixture. (Boiling destroys gelatin’s thickening power.) It may also not have set long enough. From another recipe saying: If using sheet gelatin, substitute 2 ½ sheets of gelatin for powdered. Add the sheets to a bowl filled with 2 cups of cold water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, then remove the sheets once they are completely soft and whisk them into the hot panna cotta as directed in the recipe (you don’t need to add it along with the water, as in powdered gelatin – add the sheets only).
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