Passion fruit jelly panna cotta

Blogging has made me change my mind about lots of foods: dishes I did not like, or should I say thought I did not like, have become favorites. And jellies are a good example: I thought they were boring until I tried the ones made with real fruit juice.

This passion fruit jelly is a bit different from the one I made before – the other recipe mixed passion fruit and orange – and goes really well with the panna cotta; the only “but” for me here was the panna cotta – I prefer it creamier and would use less gelatin next time.

Passion fruit jelly panna cotta
from Donna Hay magazine

Jelly:
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon gelatin powder
4 passion fruit – it will depend on their size, you might need less
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) caster sugar
1 ¼ cups (300ml) water, extra

Panna cotta:
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons gelatin powder*
2 cups (480ml) single or pouring cream
1/3 cup (47g) icing sugar, sifted
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

To make the jelly, place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Stand for 5 minutes or until the gelatin absorbs the water. Strain the passion fruit pulp through a fine sieve – you should have approximately ¼ cup (60ml) juice.
Place the juice, sugar and extra water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the gelatin mixture and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes to dissolve the gelatin. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and divide between six ½ cup (120ml) capacity molds/glasses (if you intend to unmold the dessert, lightly grease the molds with neutral vegetable oil). Refrigerate until set (4-5 hours).
Make the panna cotta: place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Stand for 5 minutes or until the gelatin absorbs the water. Place the cream in a saucepan over medium heat with the sugar, vanilla bean and seeds. Stir occasionally, allowing the cream to come to the boil. Add the gelatin and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or just until gelatin is dissolved. Pass mixture through a fine sieve and allow to cool to room temperature before pouring over the firm passion fruit jelly. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set.
Serve in the glasses or unmold into plates.

* if you’re not unmolding the dessert, use less gelatin in the panna cotta – it is much more delicious when it’s creamier

Serves 6