Yoghurt, Lime and Honey Panna Cotta with Honey Crisps

, from Issue #30. September, 2015
Photography by Aaron McLean.
Yoghurt, Lime and Honey Panna Cotta with Honey Crisps

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

4 leaves of gelatine
1 cup milk
 cup honey
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup thick, plain yoghurt
finely grated zest 1 lime

To serve
extra honey

6 x ½ cup capacity ramekins or moulds


Honey Crisps
85 grams butter at room temperature
½ cup icing sugar, sifted
½ cup honey
 cup plain flour

METHOD

Lightly grease the ramekins or moulds with a flavourless cooking spray. Put the gelatine sheets in a shallow bowl, cover with cold water and soak for 10 minutes. Combine the milk and honey in a small saucepan over a medium heat and stir to dissolve the honey. Take care not to let the milk boil. Remove from the heat.

Take the gelatine out of the water and squeeze to remove the excess liquid. Add to the hot milk, stirring until dissolved. Cool for 10 minutes.

Whisk the buttermilk, yoghurt and lime zest in a bowl until smooth. Gradually whisk in the milk. Pour the mixture into the ramekins and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours or overnight.

To serve: Carefully run a knife around the inside rim of the ramekins. Place a plate on top of each one then gently invert. Give them a gentle shake if they don’t come out immediately. Drizzle with honey and serve with Honey Crisps.


Honey Crisps: Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line 2 flat baking trays with a Teflon sheet or baking paper.

Beat the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the honey then the flour until well combined.

Spoon small teaspoonfuls of batter 3 cm apart on the trays and gently spread to a 2 cm circle or using a template, spread with a layer of batter and carefully lift off. Bake for 4-5 minutes, turning the tray for even browning. Cool for 3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Repeat until all the batter has been used. Store in an airtight container, placing baking paper between the layers. Makes about 50 small biscuits.

To make a template: trim the edges off the lid of a plastic container. Draw your desired design onto the lid and cut it out, using a scalpel or box cutter. Place the template on the baking tray and using a pastry scraper or small palette knife spread over the batter, scraping the excess batter off the template in between making each biscuit and putting it back in the bowl. It might take you a few biscuits to get the hang of it, but there is plenty of batter to experiment with.