Recipe Harriet Boucher, Images Brydie Thompson
This is a sophisticated dessert that blends both sweet and savoury. A perfect twist on a cheese platter to finish off your autumn dinner parties.
For the Panna Cotta
375ml (1½ cups) milk
375ml (1½ cups) cream
70g (⅓ cup) caster sugar
100g blue cheese
3 tbsp boiling water
3 tbsp powdered gelatine
Spray eight 125ml (½ cup) capacity metal or plastic dariole molds with oil to lightly grease. Place on a tray. Combine milk, cream and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat mixture until almost boiling, making sure sugar is dissolved.
Crumble in blue cheese and stir until melted.
Place boiling water in a small heatproof bowl. Sprinkle the gelatine and whisk with a fork to remove any lumps. Make sure the gelatine has fully dissolved and isn’t grainy to touch. Add gelatine to the panna cotta mix and whisk to combine. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a large heatproof glass bowl.
Whisk panna cotta mixture over a bowl of iced water (like a reverse bain marie, use lots of ice in there) until cooled and slightly thickened. This helps with even setting and makes it lighter. Pour mixture equally among prepared molds. Cover loosely and place in the fridge for 6 hours to set.
To Assemble
20g pine nuts
8 figs
honeycomb or 1–2 tbsp of honey
thyme leaves for garnish
Toast pine nuts in an oven set at 150°C for 5–7 minutes or until golden, then roughly chop.
Slice figs into quarters, or eighths if figs are large.
Gently tip panna cotta out in the middle of a small plate. Arrange 4 slices of figs around the panna cotta. Place a cube of honeycomb on top, alternatively, warm some honey and drizzle around the plate. Sprinkle over chopped pine nuts and garnish with some fresh thyme leaves.
