Pannacotta and Raspberry Coulis

This is an easy pretty dessert to make in the summer, good for an elegant dinner party or for the simple family meal, and everyone usually loves it, unless they are on a diet or are dairy free. I don’t make pannacotta in the typical, sadly I don’t think I do very much as it should be, but here is how I make it.

Firstly I gather all my ingredients. For 4-6 people

For the cooked cream
I large tub 500 grammes of Crème Fraiche Epaisse
150 grammes of soft white castor sugar
2 sheets of gelatine
1 pod of vanilla
1 saucepan
Rubber mould


For the Coulis
1 carton of raspberries (framboise)
1 carton of blueberries (myrtilles)
1 tbs sugar (or to taste)
A sprinkling of orange flower water

For the Tuiles
(Makes about 30)
150g unsalted butter
250g castor sugar
200ml canned coconut milk
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon cracked Szechuan peppercorns
100g plain flour sieved


The first thing to do is prepare the mixture for the tuiles as this needs to sit in the fridge for a few hours before cooking.
Mix the butter, sugar and coconut milk with a whisk. When smooth, ad the peppers and fold in the flour. Leave to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Whilst the mixture chills prepare your pannacotta, this is so easy, put the two sheets of gelatine in a bowl with a little water to soften, put cream into a saucepan, but vanilla pod in half scrape out seeds and put in pan along with pods, add the sugar and bring to a very slight boil, or just a simmer you don’t want to scald your cream, it will separate and taste nasty. When simmering add the gelatine, whisk, take off heat and pass through fine sieve into jug or bowl and then pour into small rubber moulds, place in fridge, ready to use in a few hours. Discard pods.


The Coulis
Put raspberries, blueberries, sugar and orange flower water into liquidizer, blend well, and pass through sieve into bowl place in fridge until use.

Cooking the Tuiles
This is the bit that I find quite tricky.
Heat the oven to 180 C/350 f/gas 4.  Using a teaspoon and spatula spread mixture into thin small circles then cook for 8-10 minutes until golden brown on a non stick baking tray. Remove from oven, wait 30 seconds or so then with metal spatula glide under the tuiles and put over a rolling pin, it should crisp very quickly, remove and start process over, the tuiles will stay crisp for a while if kept in air tight container.

Then the fun part, putting it all together, I used sage leaves and raspberries and chocolate thins to decorate mine, obviously you can present it as you wish.


Tessa Nelson

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