‘Just desserts’ at Cambridge Food and Wine Society…and a recipe for yoghurt panna cotta

I feel particularly unapologetic for the fact that my last couple of posts have had an alcoholic theme…I’ve decided to buck the trend of abstaining in January, as most of the nation appears to be doing, and instead am embracing  it with renewed vigour :). It’s evident from all of the interest and support for Sweeteasy, which sold out in just 2 days, that many of you feel the same way! So, without further ado…I’m very happy to announce an exiting event that I am hosting with the Cambridge Food and Wine Society called…’Just Desserts’ on Saturday 16th February 2013 at 7.30 pm.

As you may have guessed, the evening will be dessert-centric with not a savoury morsel in sight! those without a sweet tooth need not apply ! I’ve had a great time researching and concocting a menu of 7 desserts, which will be served alongside wines matched by Tom Lewis AKA Cambridge Wine Blogger. You can expect a varied selection of sweet dishes from fruity numbers and gorgeously creamy treats to indulgent chocolatey-ness (I may or may not have made that word up! :)) For more information on how to book visit the CFWS Events page and scroll down.

I thought I’d give you a taster of one of the desserts that I will be serving up…yoghurt panna cotta with honey glazed apricots…

I’d always imagined that panna cotta would be tricky to make but if you follow the steps below it’s very do-able and the inclusion of yoghurt makes sure it’s not too sickly sweet and adds a lovely tanginess to the dessert. I wonder which wine Tom will come up with to match with these beauties.

You will need…

1 sachet gelatine (2 1/4 tsp)

2 tbsp cold water

240ml double cream

75g caster sugar

1 vanilla pod, split & seeds scraped or 1tsp vanilla extract

480ml Greek yogurt

200g dried apricots

240ml semi-dry white wine

4tsbp runny honey

*recipe adapted from Foodandwine.com

To begin with, put the cold water in a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatine over the surface and leave to one side to soften for 5 minutes or so.

Pour the cream into a small saucepan, add the sugar and vanilla and bring the mixture to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the softened gelatine until it has all dissolved.

In a large bowl, whisk the yogurt until it’s smooth. Then gradually whisk in the cream/gelatine mixture (if you’ve used a vanilla pod remove it now).

I recommend tipping your finished mixture into a jug so that it makes it easier to pour into six ramekins. I used silicone cupcake cases, which are a bit smaller so the mixture filled 12 of these. You can either let each person have two panna cotta or just keep the leftovers as a chefs treat! Sit them on a baking tray and put them carefully into the fridge for a few hours until set.

To make the honey glazed apricots…put the whole dried apricots in a small saucepan with the wine and bring to a simmer. Cook over a low heat until the apricots are plump and the wine has reduced by half (about 15 minutes, but keep a close eye on them as there’s a chance that they’ll boil dry if you have the temperature up too high). Finally, stir in the honey and simmer the syrup a little more until you have a wonderful thick, sticky syrup (about 5 minutes). Leave this to cool until later.

When you are ready to serve your dessert, gently run a knife around the edge of your ramekin, put an upturned plate on top of it and invert it . carefully lift up the ramekin and…tada! you should have a perfectly formed, beautifully wobbly yoghurt panna cotta. You may need to tap and coax the panna cotta out a little bit…but patience is a virtue and I can guarantee it’ll be worth it! 🙂

Slice the cooled apricots and spoon them on top of your panna cotta, topping everything off with a drizzle of the honey syrup…

If you would like to try my version of the above along with 6 other desserts and matching wines then get booking!

To book, follow the instructions here www.CambridgeFoodandWineSociety.org.uk to send a cheque or email cfwsoc@gmail.com.