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Creamy panna cotta topped with poached fruit and drizzled in syrup.
Melt in your mouth: creamy panna cotta drizzled with the rich syrup of a medley of poached fruits. Photograph: Dan Mathews/The Guardian. Food stylist: Jack Sargeson
Melt in your mouth: creamy panna cotta drizzled with the rich syrup of a medley of poached fruits. Photograph: Dan Mathews/The Guardian. Food stylist: Jack Sargeson

Tamal Ray’s recipe for panna cotta with poached dried fruits

The perfect panna cotta is easy to make and adds a light, elegant finish to any meal

I used to be suspicious of panna cotta. After one too many gelatinous disasters, I’d written it off as the hallmark of a dodgy restaurant; a pale blob that appeared on dessert menus out of obligation rather than a real love of pudding. When done right, though, panna cotta is a joy. Easy to make in advance, the silky-smooth, delicately-flavoured cream melts in your mouth and is an elegant and simple way to end a meal.

Panna cotta with poached dried fruits

Orange blossom water comes in two forms: the traditional water-based sort, which you’ll find in Middle Eastern shops, and the newer, alcohol-based varieties available in some supermarkets. I’ve used the former for this recipe; if using the the alcohol-based kind, be aware that it is much stronger, so you’ll need less than the tablespoon here.

Prep 15 min
Cook 15 min
Makes 6

3 sheets leaf gelatine
400g double cream
200g sour cream
70g granulated or caster sugar
1 tbsp orange blossom water
Unsalted butter, to grease the ramekins

For the fruit
100g dried apricots
100g dried figs
200g apple juice
200g marsala
2 sticks cinnamon
4 green cardamom pods
150g granulated or caster sugar

Start by soaking the sheets of gelatine in cold water.

In a saucepan, gently warm the creams over a low-medium heat, then add the sugar and stir until it has dissolved.

Shake off the water from the gelatine sheets and stir them into the cream – again, until dissolved – then add the orange blossom water.

Lightly grease the ramekins by rubbing a little butter along their inner edge, then pour in the cream. Put in the fridge to set for two to three hours.

Meanwhile, make the poached fruit: chop up the dried fruits into decent-sized chunks. Place in a saucepan with the apple juice, marsala, sugar and spices. Bring the pan to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, by which point the fruit will have plumped up and the liquid thickened to a syrup. Remove the whole spices.

To serve, turn out the panna cotta and spoon over a little of the poached fruit and syrup.

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