Easy Elegant Dessert: Raspberry Chocolate Cups

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Don’t those look delish? Well, they were and they are a snap to whip up and serve, requiring minimal ingredients. If you are looking for a pretty dessert to serve on the fly, keep the basic ingredients on hand and give this a whirl. Its flexible too, just modify your fruit to what is in season. Or, add some fruit purée to the filling to change up the flavor profile.

To start with, you need some of those cute little chocolate dessert cups. Mine came with pre-made white and dark chocolate curls for garnish. I like to keep these on hand, and they are sold at my local upscale grocery store. (They are also available at Amazon.com, or you can make your own)

Then, in a small bowl, I add fresh Marscapone and powdered sugar to sweeten. Yes, it really is that simple. You can whisk it, so it becomes light and fluffy, or you can just stir it in well. This is the point where you can get your ‘creative on’ by adding some fruit purée or substitute an artisan or homemade jam/jelly for the sugar. A citrus oil would be lovely with candied rinds. The combinations abound, just put on that creative thinking cap.

Then, fill your little cups with the cheese mixture, garnish with fruit and top with the curls.

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SO, SO, SO, easy! Yet impressive too!

(Forgive the ‘less than perfect’ photographs. I took these on the fly, while entertaining. Next time, I’ll be sure to try and make the photo worthy of the dish!)

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Goat Milk & Honey Panna Cotta

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Goat Milk & Honey Panna Cotta

My daughter is lactose intolerant and she takes a Lactaid to negate most of the effects. We aren’t quite sure if she is intolerant of the milk protein, but large amounts of dairy, especially cream dairy does not agree with her. As such, I’ve had to learn how to modify her favorite dessert: Panna Cotta

While standing in front of the dairy case, I spotted Goat Milk. Hmmm, I wondered how that would taste in a Panna Cotta? I grabbed a carton and sped home to whip up a batch. Honey is a natural companion to goat, and the real vanilla bean gives it added punch.

It turned out so well, I think this will be a semi-regular dessert to have around the house. While tinkering with the milks, I also leaned the recipe out tremendously. I made a quick jam out of frozen blueberries to go on top. I hope you enjoy this extremely tasty version of Panna Cotta as much as we do. The best part is, you can enjoy and not feel guilty!

Goat Milk & Honey Panna Cotta

2 cups goat milk
1.75 cups lactose free milk (I use 1% organic)
.25 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt (I used Himalayan pink)
1 package gelatin (1 tbsp)
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

In a 2qt saucepan, add 1 cup of the milk, the vanilla bean & seeds, and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let sit for 5 mins to bloom.
Bring this mixture to just under a boil. Bubbles will appear around the edges of the pan, the gelatin will dissolve as well as the sugar and honey. Let steep for 5 mins to extract flavor from the bean. Remove the bean add the rest of the milks, stir to combine.

Portion out in to serving dishes. I like to serve mine in wine glasses, but ramekins work well to. This makes 6 generous servings. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Serve by itself, or garnished with a homemade jam, berries, mint and a little whipped cream.