Almond Chai Panna Cotta

                         

Meeta over at "What's for Lunch, Honey?" is hosting her Monthly Mingle, and inviting everyone over to her place for coffee and tea, and of course, like a good guest, I'm bringing something along. Meeta's challenge was to create something special that contained either coffee or tea. Hmmm... what to bring.... I love both coffee and tea, but coffee flavored cold things and desserts are not for me. I missed the mocha loving gene that so many people have. So that leaves tea, a wonderful drink in all of its many incarnations, both hot and cold, as my muse to create a dish to bring to Meeta's.

Thumbing through the recipe books, I found a recipe for an Almond Panna Cotta. Creamy, delicious, nutty - this would be a great match for the spicy, earthy flavors of Chai tea. I had my dish. 

I wish I could tell you that I slaved over the Panna Cotta for hours, but it was amazingly easy. The recipe calls for a 30 minute steeping to let the toasted almonds flavor the cream and sugar, so I used this opportunity to let the Chai do it's magic by tossing a tea bag in with the almonds.  The fragrance almost brought a tear to my eye - I could tell that the toasted almonds, the heavy cream and my tea bag were coming together to create something really special. 

And wow did they. The finished Panna Cotta is terrific. The Chai is understated, but spicy, and it gives the Panna Cotta an exotic flavor, a creamy taste that almost warms you from the inside. My only regret is that I don't have a nice butter cookie to enjoy along with this. They would be great together. I'd better get baking before the Panna Cotta is gone.

Serve this to your guests at a dinner party. They'll be so impressed with you!

Almond Chai Panna Cotta

adapted from Dolce Italiana, by Gina DePalma

1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds

11/4 cups heavy cream

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

5 grams gelatin

1 cup whole milk

1 Chai tea bag     

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them until they are golden brown and aromatic, about 10 minutes.

Remove the almonds from the oven and place them in a heavy saucepan. Add the heavy cream, sugar and gelatin and stir to combine. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the Chai tea bag and allow the mixture to sit for 30 minutes to infuse the liquid with the flavor of the almonds and Chai.

Return the saucepan to medium heat and bring the mixture to scalding, then take it off the heat again. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve to remove the almonds and tea bag. Whisk in the milk. Pour into 6 dessert glasses and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.  

For more fun with coffee and tea, please visit Meeta's at the Monthly Mingle.

Comments

[Meeta]

Oh I love the sound of this. Chai and panna cotta sounds just like the type of dessert for me. Glad you are coming over with this one! ;-)