Blueberry panna cotta with chocolate mouse

Knowing a basic panna cotta recipe can offer you so many different choices when preparing a delicious dessert. You can add so many flavours to the milk and cream base - the options are only limited to your imagination and willingness to try new ideas.

This one was made with infusing the milk with fresh blueberries.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups cream or plain yogurt

3 teaspoons gelatine powder

sugar or honey to taste

about a cup of fresh blueberries

Keep a few of the berries to the side for a garnish.

Add the milk to a saucepan and add the berries. Using a fork or back of a spoon crush the berries into the milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer . The skins of the berries will start to infuse the milk with a pinkish purple colour.

Once the mixture is hot, you can take it off the stove and let it rest for an hour or so. This will help the berries infuse in the milk.

When you are happy with the colour and flavour of the milk mixture, strain out the berries and pour the milk back into the saucepan, making sure non of the seeds are left.

Add the gelatine powder to the milk as well as some sweetner. Sweeten to taste.

Reheat the milk, disolving the gelatine and sugar while doing so.

Do not let the milk boil, or it will render the gelatine useless and your dessert will not set.

Once you are sure the gelatine is disolved, take off the heat and add the cream.

You can also add a splash of vanilla essence/ extract if you want.

Pour the panna cottas into the molds or glasses for serving and put in the fridge to set.

They will take about 4 hours in a fridge or if you are in a rush about 45 minutes in a freezer, but make sure they don't start to freeze.

Top with chocolate mousse and garnish with fresh berries and mint leaves.

Enjoy!

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To modify the recipe just exchange the blueberries for any other flavour. You can infuse the milk with spices or add fruit juice or pulp (just adjust your milk quantity that you are still left with 1 1/2 cup of liquid) Make a savoury panna cotta by leaving out the sugar and flavouring with blue cheese and serve as part of a cheese board or use cucumber juice and serve as a side with a salmon dish.

Be careful using alcohol to flavour the milk mixture as this might influence the setting capacity and as the mixture never really boils, it will still contain the alcohol. But using your favourite cream liqueur like Amarula as part of the cream part, you can make a delicious grown up dessert.