Dark Chocolate-Juniper Panna Cotta

This is the part of our 2024 project: The Alphabet Challenge. Hosted by Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, I thought this would be a fun culinary adventure. We will be posting every two weeks. I hope you follow along...or join in as you can. This should be fun.

D is for...

• Sneha’s Recipe: Dill With Chana Dal & Potato

• Culinary Cam: Dark Chocolate-Juniper Panna Cotta

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Dark Chocolate Mousse

• Sizzling Tastebuds: Dum Aloo Kashmiri

• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Durum Wheat Sesame Bread

• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Devil’s Food Cake Mix Cookies

• Blogghetti: Deviled Egg Crostini

• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Dangella | Tawa Handvo

• Magical Ingredients: Dates Walnut Paratha

• Food Lust People Love: Cajun Chicken Eggplant Dressing

• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Italian Deviled Eggs with Heart-Shaped Tomatoes

• Palatable Pastime: Durkee’s Famous Sauce

Dark Chocolate-Juniper Panna Cotta

Panna cotta is one of my favorite desserts to make for a dinner party for several reasons. First: it's easy to make. Second: it's a recipe that is easily adaptable to fit whatever creative bent you're on. Third: it's not too sweet. Fourth: you can make it ahead of time so you're not scrambling to finish a dessert at the end of a party. Oh, and I did mention easy, right?!?

Your basic panna cotta can take as few as three ingredients. I decided to make this one a little bit more fancy with a juniper infused cream and some chocolate.

Ingredients

makes sixteen 2-ounce servings

• 2 envelopes gelatin

• 1/2 cup cold milk

• 4 cups organic heavy whipping cream

• 2 Tablespoons juniper berries

• 1/4 cup organic granulated sugar

• 1-1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped (use a good quality chocolate with, at least 64% cacao solids)

• fleur de sel for serving

Procedure

Crush the juniper berries with a mortar and pestle. Set aside. Pour heavy cream into a medium sauce pan and heat until bubbles begin to form along the edges of the pan.

Add the crushed juniper berries and let steep for at least thirty minutes. Strain out the juniper berries and set cream aside.

NOTE: Most of the people at my table couldn't pick out the juniper flavor. I could, but maybe you will want to let it steep for longer for a more pronounced flavor.

Pour the milk into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface. Let bloom for 5 minutes.

Heat the infused cream until it begins to steam. Do not let it boil. Add in the chocolate and make sure all the pieces are submerged. Let stand for 3 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Pour the mixture over the gelatin and stir until completely dissolved.

Pour the mixture into your serving containers, leaving a little bit of space at the top - in case you want to top it with any sauce - and let chill until set, but at least four hours. Serve cold. Just before serving, sprinkle with some fleur de sel as garnish.

That's a wrap for my 'D' offering for this year's Alphabet Challenge. We'll be back in two weeks with recipes that start with the letter 'E'. Stay tuned!