“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”- Leonardo da Vinci.

What’s your first thought on seeing this post? Too simple?

I like simple desserts. I like combining different flavours. I like contrasting textures and colours. I like make ahead desserts. I like using fruits in season in my desserts. Ergo, I like this honey panna Cotta with strawberry compote.

Scratch that. I really really like this honey pannacotta with strawberry compote!

I have shared PannaCotta before – the white chocolate one, the green tea one and the saffron one. They are usually nicely appreciated among my people. What’s not to appreciate – as it’s more or less just cream! I do like to mix things up with flavoring the pannacotta in new ways and serving along side a burst of contrasting texture and taste. The honey here gives all that cream a nice earthy flavour and surprisingly isn’t too sweet at all!

And I was dying to use some fresh strawberries somewhere! Made some jam with the first batch I got and the next few went into this compote. Compote – such a fancy word for simply heating down fruit with some sugar. And if you use a strainer after that heating down, you get another fancily named sauce – coulis. If you decide to unmould your panna Cotta, you can serve it with some coulis instead of the compote.

As it stands, I usually set them in serve ware and spare myself the stress of worrying about the falling apart and the wobble. And I strongly vote for trying the softened chunks of strawberries against the uber smooth pannacotta!

Can you beat that white against the pink!

Recipe :

For the honey pannacotta:

• 480 ml or 2 cups light or low fat cream
• 80 ml or 1/3 cup honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoon gelatin
• 1 tablespoon cold water

For the strawberry compote:

• 150 grams or about 1 cup chopped strawberries
• 2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon lime juice

To make the pannacotta:

• Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water. This is called Blooming. Keep this aside .
• In a saucepan , heat the cream and honey together on medium for 5-6 minutes.
• Once tiny bubbles come on the edges, add the gelatin mixture and stir while heating for a minute. Do not let it boil.
• Take of heat . Pour or strain into serving cups or moulds.
• Refrigerate for atleast 4 hours .

To make the strawberry compote :

• Roughly chop the strawberries .
• in a thick bottomed saucepan , heat the chopped berries with the sugar and lime juice on low heat. Stir occasionally.
• Once the sugar melts , you can taste and add more sugar or lime juice as needed.
• Continue heating until the compote is dark and syrupy, and strawberry bits are soft and mushy.
• Cool completely.
• You can either refrigerate and serve along side the pannacotta , or pour over the set pannacotta and refrigerate until serving time.

Notes:

• This recipe makes 4 servings. It can be doubled.
• I used amul fresh cream here.
• You can use an equal amount of agar agar instead of the gelatin. Dissolve it into cream mixture.
• The amount of sugar needed in the compote depends on the tartness of the fruit.
• You can add a tablespoon of water while cooking the compote if it gets too thick or sticky.
• Add spices like cinnamon or star anise while making the compote for a different flavour
• My measuring cup is 240 ml

Strawberries and cream are a classic combination and the honey takes this pairing to another level altogether. You should make this soon before the berry season runs out!