Vanilla Panna Cotta with fresh blueberry sauce

Panna Cotta is my go-to dessert for entertaining gluten-free friends. It doesn't require any tinkering because it's already naturally gluten-free and as it can all be prepared the day before, it makes for a very easy pudding. 

I've talked before about how I never choose panna cotta in restaurants because I find them all too solid and rubbery. This recipe is different however; I use just enough gelatine to allow it to set, but it still has a glorious wobble. I find the all-cream versions too heavy; the perfect ratio for me is half milk (full-fat of course) and half double cream. However, if you prefer a creamier version, just up the cream to 300 ml and reduce the milk to 200 ml. See the recipe for a note about the sugar too.

The crowning glory is the blueberry sauce. Heating the fruit with a little water, sugar and lemon juice so that it releases those wonderful, purple juices transforms what is quite a bland fruit into a beautifully flavoured sauce that complements the creamy panna cotta perfectly.

RECIPE

250ml double cream
250ml full-fat milk
60-70g caster sugar (I use 60g as I don't like it too sweet but you can increase the amount of sugar if you prefer)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4g gelatine leaves

For the blueberry sauce

100g blueberries

2 teaspoons sugar
juice of half a lemon
grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon water

Put the gelatine sheets in cold water to soak.

Put the milk, cream, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. When it's just about to boil, remove from the heat and stir in the squeezed-out gelatine. 

Pour into small moulds and leave to set in the fridge overnight. 

The blueberry sauce can be made the day before too. Just put all the ingredients (blueberries, water, lemon juice and zest, sugar) in a saucepan and heat gently for about 10 minutes until the blueberries are soft. Strain through a sieve, squashing the fruit so the pulp goes into the sauce, leaving just the skins behind. 

To serve, run a knife around the panna cotta before inverting onto a plate. Serve with the sauce and a few fresh blueberries if you like.

Three Berry Cake

I love cake with fruit in; by that, I don't mean 'fruit cake', although I love that too, or cakes layered or topped with fruit, I mean cake with bits of fresh fruit in the batter. Apple cake is a particular favourite of mine (see here and here for two recipes) but it's obviously an autumnal cake whereas I wanted something in a similar vein but that would celebrate this beautiful weather we're currently enjoying. With the plethora of gorgeous soft fruit we have available in summer, it took much deliberation before deciding on a mixture of raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. Summer in a cake - what more do you want?

I'm linking this up to several blogging challenges. The first is July's gorgeous Tea Time Treats Challenge, Fresh Fruit Treats, jointly run by Karen of Lavender and Lovage (this month's host) and Kate at What Kate Baked.

It's going to Javelin Warrior's wonderful weekly challenge too, Made with Love Mondays, which encourages everyone to cook from scratch.

Finally, I'm entering it into Calender Cakes, run by Rachel from Dolly Bakes and Laura (this month's host) from Laura Loves Cakes. The theme is Fruity Bakes.  

RECIPE

200g butter

200g caster sugar

200g self raising flour + one tablespoon for the fruit

180g raspberries, strawberries and blueberries (roughly 60g of each fruit)

3 eggs

zest of one lemon

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

Grease and base line a round cake tin, 22cm diameter

Wash and prepare the fruit.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Sieve the flour and fold in. Toss the fruit in a tablespoon of flour (this prevents it from all sinking to the bottom during baking) and fold in to the cake batter along with the grated lemon zest.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the top.

Put in the oven and bake for about 45-50 mins or until the cake is cooked and golden brown on top. It takes longer to cook than a normal sponge cake because of the addition of the moist fruit. 

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 20 mins before carefully turning out and leaving to cool on a wire rack. 
This cake makes a perfect pudding eaten still warm from the oven, served with crème anglaise. As a cake, it's wonderful too and in fact tastes even better after a day or two - very handy for a summer picnic.

American Blueberry and Lemon Buttermilk Muffins

I have to admit that this recipe is a slightly odd choice for me, firstly because I've never been particularly keen on muffins and secondly, because I've never been particularly keen on blueberries. It's not that I actively dislike either of them, it's just that I've never found any muffins (either shop-bought or homemade) that have made me swoon with pleasure and delight and as for blueberries - well, they just don't taste like fruit should.

Then, as I was searching internet for a way of using up some buttermilk that was fast approaching its use-by date, I came across this recipe. Talk about serendipitous. The original recipe is by Ina Garten who I came to rather late but have rapidly become a fan. On any given episode of Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa, there's plenty to drool over: delicate salads of vibrant herbs and fresh tomatoes, oozing chocolate cakes baking in the oven, a well-shaken martini with plenty of Vermouth. Then there's her house and garden - faded clapperboard with rooms straight out of a magazine shoot and a garden, or rather gardens that wouldn't be out of place in a stately home. An episode isn't really complete without a visit from one of Ina's gay male friends - there's Miguel the architect and home stylist, Michael the florist, and TR, who although can't really contribute to the napkin folding and flower arranging, certainly adds to the drool-factor of the programme with his stunning, chiselled face, silver-streaked hair and twinkly blue eyes. His charm certainly has an effect on Ina who becomes positively giddy in his presence, despite the fact that he's gay and that she's probably old enough to be his mother. She simpers and giggles like a schoolgirl, taking every opportunity to touch and hug him. But who can blame her? Not me that's for sure. I love the pure escapism of the whole thing - the endless parties, not just dinner but breakfast parties, beach parties, picnic parties, Ina's generous and flamboyant use of break-the-bank ingredients such as lobster and truffle butter, her elegant table settings and of course her fabulous recipes.

Her recipe for blueberry muffins completely converted me to both muffins and blueberries. These are light, fluffy, moist and sweet with a nice crunch on the outside. The blueberries are transformed by the cooking, bursting with juice and  flavour. Don't think that the lemon zest is an optional either - it gives the blueberries the added tartness they need and makes the muffins fragrant and zesty. Everyone I've made them for has said that they're the best muffins they've ever tried. After making them the first time, I continued to bake them every Sunday for a month and have had to stop myself from buying any more buttermilk, thus eliminating the temptation to whip up a batch at weekends.

I have slightly tweaked and adapted Ina's original recipe but you can find it here. My changes have resulted in a recipe that makes eleven muffins - I know it's odd but it just means you'll have one empty place in your muffin tin.

RECIPE 

225g plain flour
160g granulated sugar
2 and a quarter teaspoons baking powder
half a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
half a teaspoon of salt
284ml (1 carton) buttermilk
55g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
grated zest of one lemon
1 egg, beaten
about 130g fresh blueberries 

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.


Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarb of soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix together. I add the blueberries at this point too because I found that if I added them last of all, they didn't mix in as well. Adding them at this stage means that they are evenly dispersed throughout the muffins.

In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, melted butter, lemon zest, and egg. Make a hole in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in. Mix with a fork just until blended, being careful not to over mix. With a standard ice-cream scoop or a large spoon, scoop the batter into the prepared cases, filling them almost full.

Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.