All my answers in Orange Lemon Sugarfree Panna cotta

“Orange is the happiest color.” says Frank Sinatra

After making Pannacotta for the February Daring Baker Challenge, with what else could I wish Babaji Happy birthday.... Making Parshad is always such a delight... :)

The Orange, Lemon Sugarfree panacotta is a winner all the way... why?
This is the single answer to so many dietary restrictions... Diabetic (Sugarfree), Egg Allergy(No Egg), Migraine(No Chocolate, No Coffee).

The song 'IF TODAY WAS YOUR LAST DAY' is ringing in my head..... Birthday's are the start of a new year.. a new you and what all would we really like to do....
Just can't get this song from the album Dark Horse by Nickelback out of my head.....

IF TODAY WAS YOUR LAST DAY LYRICS by Nickelback

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

If Today Was Your Last Day
and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday'
Would you live each moment like your last'
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have'
If today was your last day

Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the prize is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you'll never live it twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day
and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday'
Would you live each moment like your last'
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have'
Would you call old friends you never see'
Reminisce of memories
Would you forgive your enemies'
Would you find that one you're dreamin' of'
Swear up and down to God above
That you finally fall in love
If today was your last day

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart'
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are
So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothin' stand in your way
Cause the hands of time are never on your side

If today was your last day
and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday'

Would you live each moment like your last'
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have'
Would you call old friends you never see'
Reminisce of memories
Would you forgive your enemies'
Would you find that one you're dreamin' of'
Swear up and down to God above
That you finally fall in love
If today was your last day

Citrus Panna Cotta with Fruit Compote for Daring Baker Challenge ~ My Fruit Basket

Panna cotta it is.... Had made a firm resolve to make the Daring Baker Challenge well in time instead of panicking in the last few days n scrambling to finish it.... It sure looks like a simple recipe... It's just about cooking the ingredients together... getting the flavours right.... n pop it in the refrigerator to set.... How Difficult can that be.... Wait n Watch in the post below how I managed to complicate my life beyond words.....

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Winters in Delhi is abundant with fresh fruit flooding the market... I decided to take full advantage of that and make lots of fruit flavours for the Daring Baker Challenge of Panna Cotta... but I must admit that being so overwhelmed and absorbed with the Panna Cotta, I never got around to making the cookies.

My choice of flavours was Strawberry, Grape, Pineapple, Pomegranate and Orange n Lemon as the citrus base... While so many fruits were happening, how could I miss Chocolate and Coffee.... :)

Panna cotta (from Italian cooked cream) is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. It is generally from the Northern Italian region of Piemonte, although it is eaten all over Italy, where it is served with wild berries, caramel, chocolate sauce or fruit coulis. It is not known exactly how or when this dessert came to be, but some theories suggest that cream, for which mountainous Northern Italy is famous, was historically eaten plain or sweetened with fruit or hazelnuts. Earlier recipes for the dish used boiled fish bones in place of gelatin; sugar, later a main ingredient, would not have been widely available as it was an expensive imported commodity. After years this treat evolved into what is now a gelatin dessert, flavored with vanilla and topped with fruit or spices, and served chilled.
Somewhat similar versions of this dish are found in Greece, France and Finland. [Source:Wikipedia].

This was the Pineapple Panna Cotta... made a pineapple compote [jam like thick sauce by boiling pineapple juice, fresh pineapple and some sugar.] to go with the citrus flavours in the panna cotta

The pineapple citrus panna cotta was very refreshing and a very distinct taste....

Citrus Panna Cotta With Fruit Compote

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat)
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange and 2 lemons
Fresh fruit of your choice [juice/jam of the fruit is optional]
pinch of salt

Method
1. Make the fruit compote by boiling together fruit juice/jam, fresh fruit and sugar as per taste and the fresh fruit used.
2. Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
3. Pour the cream into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. Stir continuously.
4. Next, add the honey, sugar, vanilla and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn’t boil, add the milk and gelatin, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved in 5-7 minutes.
5. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin in which the fruit compote has already been set..
6. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Add garnishes and serve.

My neighbour had a special request for Pomegranate as a flavour.... How can I turn down someone who requests for a flavour... So on our way back from watching the movie 'Band Baaja Baarat', we picked up pomegranate juice..... Pomegranate Panna cotta here we come....

I realized that pomegranate juice is way too watery for reducing into a saucy consistency without loosing it's flavour... So I used the fruit in it's entire goodness... My neighbour refused to get himself clicked while eating it..... He liked it enough to take back some more for his dad and girlfriend..... That's testimony enough for me....

Another fruit which I haven't used in it's fresh form while baking is Grapes.... Another challenge over come by way of Grape Panna Cotta...

My sister and her friend Sharath loved the grape panna cotta. They were extremely amused while watching me photograph the panna cotta. They knew from previous experience of the Swiss Swirl Icecream Cake that they'll just have to wait for the goodies till I was done taking pictures :) Having waited quite impatiently thru the photography session, watching me ooohhh and aaahhhh when I upturned the panna cotta n release it from the silicon cups, their amusement was boundless.....

Another friend of my sister from school had come over, Anubha.... She choose to have the Chocolate panna cotta.... I sometimes wonder why most of us cannot see beyond chocolate... everything chocolate is good and made even better with Coffeeeeeeee........

This is.. These were the remains of a Coffee, Chocolate layered Panna Cotta which was polished off in a matter of seconds.... Am I complaining.... absolutely not..... We fought over it with spoons n were giggling like kids.... Sharath was seen sulking as my sister n I gobbled up the majority of it.... Sharath don't worry will certainly make some more for you..... Ok I heard you LOUD n CLEAR..... LOTS-MORE-ONLY-FOR-SHARATH..... :)

Saved the sweetest n cutest ones till the end of the post Strawberry Panna Cotta.... The market is now getting fewer and fewer of these amazing luscious berries which I can never get enough of....

I didn't have to work very hard to make the strawberry compote, it was a breeze. Have been having so much fun with strawberries this season. The Strawberry n Almond Brownies, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries for Valentines and Strawberry Peppermint Brownies.

The shot glasses made me practice how to make angled layers.... Awww.... Don't they look so pretty... The pink blush of strawberries.... :)))))

Strawberry Pannacotta and Strawberry Brownies with Strawberry Crush..... am I tripping on strawberries... oh yes I am..... I had to bid them an appropriate adieu.... Bye bye strawberries, but only till next year... Will wait for ya.... :))))

Verdict:

Had just way too much fun making these and sharing them with everyone.... It's so simple to make and absolutely heavenly n creamy. An absolute keeper which should be repeated many times over for the sheer ease of producing something fantastic in such little time :)

Thank You Vibha... Total Gratitude... Orange Cookies

What better way to thank someone than to make them 'Orange Cookies' :)
Made these Orange Cookies topped with Chocolate Ganache for Vibha and the kids.... Had made Haroun n the Sea of Stories , Hoopoe Lemon Cake for Vibha....She is a total treasure. Have done cakes for her kids, Chocolate Blackout Cake for Tarini and a football cake for Karan.

She sent across a book for me...... I was over the moon... How thoughtful of her... :)

Have been watching Nigella's shows for a while now.... A Nigella recipe which I tried was To Die for 'Banana Chocochip Muffins' and then went on to make these as parshad too with a different garnish and filling at a huge scale[almost 300 people over a weekend] Banana Walnut Chocochip Muffins.

Watching her show was a 'Sign' when I was so nervous about the Chocolate Pavlovas n Mango Mascarpone Mousse for the Daring Baker Challange last time.


Thank you so much for all the encouragement, Vibha.....

So readers, what's your encouragement story?

Cheesecake ~ God's Way of Blessing Us

Fresh fruits have always been a favourite with me....
Even when I hadn't discovered the baker in me, i use to do this cheesecake recipe. It always gives me wonderful results....


Made this orange cheese cake for someone very special....


For special people something special had to be done...... There was a surprise in the cheese cake..... chocolate coated fruit... Yummy..... How can I leave chocolate out of my dessert recipes. Got everything right by the book. Decorated the bowl with freshly peeled oranges. Now what to do for my second bowl.....

As usual S.O.S call to Deeba of 'Passionate About Baking'.... I had seen it somewhere on her blog ... Hmm.. Here it is.. She had done a 'DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ALMOND TORTE' for her mom's b'day decorated with Chocolate Leaves. She was really sweet to revert back in minutes with the process to do the chocolate petals. Have detailed it below after the recipe.


For the base:
1/2 packet glucose biscuits [abt 100gms]
60 gm butter [softened, not melted]
20gm grain sugar

For cheesecake:
250 ml cream[whipped]
150gm hung curd
100gm fruit pulp [use mango, orange, strawberries or any other fruit you fancy]
40 gms gelatin [in winter 1 reduce it by 2-3 pinches as it sets just fine]

Method:
For the base:
Crush the glucose biscuits finely [not to powder]
Bind them together with the softened butter till the mixture is course. [i use the back of a spoon, you could use ure hand if you like]
Pace this on the base of the dish in which you want to make the cheesecake and serve.
Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

For Cheesecake:
Whip the cream to soft peaks.
Mix in the hung curd to a silky consistency.
Add the fruit pulp and mix well, don't beat too much. [I like to leave a few course pieces of fruit in the mixture too]
Melt the gelatin in cold water first and then heat on a double boiler.
After it's completely dissolved, pour into the above mixture and mix well.
Take out the Refrigerated base, pour the above mixture into the bowl over the base.
Refrigerate for about an hour.[more in summers till it sets]
Garnish with fresh fruit or chocochips.

For Chocolate Petals:
Chocolate leaves are really really simple. They work best with rose leaves.
Pluck a bunch of rose leaves, clean & pat dry. Leave a stalk on each leaf to make it easier to peel off once the chocolate is set.
I make a few extra leaves just in case a couple break etc. They store very well in any case.
Melt some chocolate (I do it in the microwave), & then paint on gently onto the back of the rose leaf. (The back of the leaves has strong veins) .
Make sure the chocolate doesn't drip to the front of the leaf, or it gets difficult to peel off cleanly/without breaking.
Allow to set on a platter in the fridge. If you are in a hurry, then the freezer does the job in 10 minutes too.
Once the chocolate has set, quickly, but gently peel the rose leaf off. Quickly because the chocolate tends to melt on being held.

Hope you try this one day...it's a great feeling making your own leaves! I was so super excited..... It's beyond words..... They didn't like all come out brilliant... But enough to make me really happy..... 3 Cheers to you Deeba...

Deeba also made this recipe of cheese cake.... Strawberry Refrigerator Cheesecake... Eggless.... It's beautiful..... take a peek....
She's really sweet, calls me 'a chirpy young thing, full of beans'... LOL....