Tuesday

PANNA COTTA & FLORENTINES - Daring Bakers' Challenge - Feb/2011

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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. 

Panna Cotta is something that I've been wanting to try for a while. It is a creamy, soft and delicious gelatin based dessert that can be served with fruit compote, or gelee, or even on its own. Florentines are thin and crispy biscuits usually made with almonds, but for this challenge, they were made with quick oats. Together, they form the perfect pair creamy & crunchy.

For this challenge, I decided to make a few different versions for the Panna Cotta. My first experience was a Coconut Panna Cotta that would be used to fill a sweet pumpkin. This sweet pumpkin is a Brazilian recipe where you fill the pumpkin with sugar, add some cloves and cinnamon sticks and bake it until it gets soft. The water content from the pumpkin dissolves the sugar and forms a syrup. Unfortunately, the only pumpkin I found here in Korea was Buttercup Squash which is quite dry and did not dissolve the sugar properly. Maybe next time I'll try making a syrup first, and pouring it in the pumpkin before baking. 

I wanted to fill my pumpkin with coconut Panna Cotta, since this combination is very popular among Brazilian desserts. So, I substituted coconut milk for the milk from the original recipe. It tasted good, but was too rich for my liking, so next time I will try substituting for the cream instead.





I had some coconut Panna Cotta left, so I thought it might pair well with pineapple gelee. I had some pineapple compote in the fridge that needed to be used up, so that was very timely. It turned out really delicious, despite the richness of the coconut panna cotta.


Then, it was time to try Vanilla Panna Cotta. I followed the given recipe, only adding vanilla beans. It was really delicious. I topped it with strawberry gelee and also tried kiwi gelee, but this one did not unmold very well.


I also made some tiny Vanilla Panna Cotta and topped with some store bought blueberry filling, just for fun. 


And last, but not least, the Florentines. The recipe given for this challenge called for quick oats instead of almonds. Other Daring Bakers commented that the recipe was too sweet, so i decided to cut the sugar in half.  They turned out delicious! More like a cookie than a Florentine, but that was probably due to the reduced  sugar content.


Thanks Mallory for hosting this delicious challenge!

Please visit THE DARING KITCHEN to see an array of wonderful Panna Cottas and Florentines from the other Daring Bakers, where you can also find the original recipes for this challenge. 


45 comments:

  1. Renata you made awesome panna cotta and Florentine cookies. I enjoyed making them too.

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  2. They're all so beautiful Renata! So creative!

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  3. What a great variety you have made, I would have a hard time choosing between the pineapple, strawberry or blueberry they all sound super delicious.

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  4. Renata, You did a beautiful job on this panna cotta! And those florentines, my goodness. They look professional! Gorgeous results and a truly successful challenge!

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  5. (my computer is acting strangely, I appologize if there are multiple comments here...)
    I love your panna cotta, and how you blended the challenge with your Brazilian culture! Thank you so much for sharing your creativity and inspiration with us!

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  6. These are so beautiful, Renata! I'm soooo impressed by the variety you made. Congratulations!

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  7. You really experimented with this. Good for you. I will be on board with the next challenge! I must make panna cotta though. I have always wanted to make it. The pumpkin idea is really different. I saw some little sweet pumpkins for pie in the store last week.

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  8. They look fantastic as always. I am obsessed with pannacotta now, just made a Butterscotch one going to serve it with cinnamon apples and the leftovers from the joconde.

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  9. They all sound fantastic, and your photos are gorgeous Renata! Now I am craving pineapple and coconut.
    :)

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  10. Aweosme collection of Panna cotta's:-)
    The pumpking idea is simple superb:-)
    The last one with blueberry topping is so tongue tickling:-)
    Thank u 4 stopping by my space.

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  11. Renata, são oito da manhã aqui e eu já estou cheia de vontade de comer uma panna cotta das tuas, adorei as fotografias e a mistura de sabores. Estou muito curiosa com a panna cotta de coco, tenho de experimentar!!

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  12. They all look so stunning I love the coconut pumpkin recipe wonderful idea, and the last two versions are so delicious sounding. Great photos as well, and the Florentines are so sweet good idea to reduce the sugar. Great effort on this challenge.

    Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

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  13. I love the way you tried different panna cotta combinations Renata. The pumpkin one especially looks amazing. Your Florentines look top notch too. I think Panna cotta really is a good dinner party dessert, and while I would never have thought of serving it with Florentines, why not?! You have done a beautiful job, again.

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  14. All your versions looks extremely delicious, lovely presentation.

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  15. What a wonderful array of panna cotta! Particularly love that you filled a pumpkin. Great job :)

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  16. Wow! SO many awesome flavours. When I saw the photo of the pumpkin, I thought perhpas it was a Thai dessert (a custard served in a pumpkin), I didn't realise pumpkin is considered a dessert in Brazil as well. I love the sound of your pineapple gelee, and the florentines look great.

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  17. Have to admire you! So many versions and all so good. I liked the coconut-pineapple version very much.
    I just managed to make mine at the last minute! :)

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  18. Wonderful, all the versions are impressive. Did it taste good with the squash?

    By the way, your website brings up a lot of spam and ads.

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  19. What a clever idea to fill the pumpkin! Everything turned out beautiful. I love the florentines too!

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  20. *stares forever* I'm loving the panna cotta-filled pumpkin. What a brilliant idea! Your presentation is gorgeous (as usual!) and that photo of the vanilla panna cotta with the blueberry is stunning. Great flavours too. Like a burst of summer!

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  21. Wow. I wish I had another word to express my amazement with your talents, but wow will have to do for now, as that is all I say as I read your post and see your pictures. You really took this challenge and ran with it, and made such amazingly creative, beautiful and delicious looking (and sounding!) panna cotta dishes. The pumpkin? Awesome. All of those different fruits? Stunning!! Those florentines?? Amazing. Seriously great work. As always. I can't wait to see what you have cooked up for us next month!! :)

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  22. Renata, what lovely combinations you came up with! And SO many :-) And such beautiful pics. Thanks for the ideas, I'm looking forward to next month's creations!

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  23. What a great presentation with the pumkin. You did an outstanding job this month Renata- you should be impressed with yourself (I am!)
    Best- Sandie

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  24. Very nice and interesting presentation with the squash - thanks for sharing some of your Brazilian culture with us.

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  25. Wow - you worked hard. I love the pumpkin and coconut ideas. I also think that every one of your desserts looks so elegant.

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  26. Love all the versions Renata, and gorgeous clicks! The one in the pumpkin is the best hands down...very daring indeed, well done!

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  27. OMG so many of them! The Pineapple coconut sounds delish and the florentine cookies look crisp and pretty!

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  28. Renata,

    Your panna cotta's really floored me! The stuffed pumpkin/squash?! Absolutely amazing, and so creative. I would have never thought you could pair the two like that. Absolutely beautiful job!

    Mallory

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  29. Oh my goodness, I LOVE the filled pumpkin! Is that similar to a Japanese kabocha, I wonder... You have out-done yourself this month - wow! xxx

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  30. Renata you are such a source of inspiration to me over on the Daring Bakers' Forum! Your creativity (squash filled with Panna Cotta) knows no bounds and that picture of the Panna Cotta with the blueberry sauce is so dreamy, ethereal and beautiful... I'm simply in awe.

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  31. Renata, how do you do it every month??? You are constantly making gorgeous and very mouth-watering dishes. These are are no exception! Your panna cottas look totally drool-worthy, love the flecks in the panna cotta and all the various flavours you've done!!

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  32. You went all out and tried so many versions, I love the pumpkin one. I tis so original and looks like a slice of cake. The florentines looks awesome.

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  33. Panna cotta in a pumpkin is certainly not something I expected to see! All your puddings look fantastic, and the cookies look so cute!

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  34. As always Renata - wonderful job on the challenge! Love the variety you made. I think my favorite was the pineapple and coconut panna cotta. Sounds like my kind of flavour combination... maybe I will have to make that next time! :)

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  35. Wow, Renata you made so many variations of panna cotta! What fun you must have had! I love the coconut and pineapple one but they are all brilliant. How unusual to use pumpkin in that way, I'm intrigued! The florentines were very sweet but I think a little one with a coffee is perfect!

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  36. Oh wow...love all the flavors you used. There's a similar asian dessert to the one you made inside a pumpkin. The florentines are perfect. Great job on this challenge!

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  37. Your variety shows how enthusiastic you were towards this challenge! I especially love the turnout of your pumpkin panacotta since it reminds me of the pumpkin coconut custard dessert that is also a typical Thai dessert. And the pineapple panacotta is just stunning!

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  38. Oh Renata, how on earth do you manage to make four different types of panna cotta?! I love the pineapple one. It looks so refreshing.

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  39. wow you're so creative on your panna cotta making! And your unmold panna cotta looks flawless...I'm not dare to unmold my panna cotta coz I know it will turn out into a pile of slurp..>.<
    congratulations on your great success in your challenge!

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  40. Renata,
    Beautiful job as always! =)

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  41. Renata, once again you completely launched a challenge to the moon. Every single flavor looks and sounds to die for, and aesthetically, WOW. LOVE the pumpkin as a vessel for the panna cotta!! Brilliant! Gorgeous cookies too. I'm simply awed :)

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  42. Morro de vontade de comer Panna cotta, não consigo entender porque que eu nunca fiz.
    http://conversandoecozinhando.blogspot.com.br/
    Bjuuu,

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