Tropical Panna cotta!

Spanish summer is not for the faint of heart, especially in the Spanish heartland away from the coast. Temperatures sometimes exceed 40 C in Madrid. With such hot weather, I avoid traditional baking and I satisfy my sweet cravings with fresher desserts that are quick and easy to make.

An Italian classic, panna cota, which means cooked cream, is one of these easy desserts that are made ahead of time and served chilled: just what you need on a hot day!

The basic recipes calls for three main ingredients. To this base you can add whatever flavor you want. I went for tropical flavors in the form of mango and passion fruit. Mangoes add a mellow and sweet flavor to the panna cota, whereas the passion fruit gives the dessert fresh and tangy notes.

These 2 amazing fruits work perfectly with the creaminess of the panna cotta and this will give you a refreshing and delicious dessert that you can even make several days ahead!

For 4 servings you need:

• 400 ml 35% cream
• 40 g sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or paste
• 4 sheets of geltaine (about 7g)
• 50 g mango purée
• 2 passion fruits pulp

First, break the gelatin sheets and soak them with cold water for about 5 minutes.

In a sauce pan combine sugar, vanilla and cream and let them simmer on a gentle heat for few minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside. Drain the water from the gelatin sheets, add them to the cream, and whisk to make sure that the gelatin melted completely. Divide the mixture in 2, add the mango purée to one half and the passion fruit pulp to the other. Pour the mixtures to the serving pots and let them chill for at least 4 hours.

When you´re ready to serve decorate the pots as you wish. I decorated the passion fruit pots with mango flowers and the mango ones with passion fruit pulp!

And now you are ready to serve a cold, refreshing, fruity and gluten free dessert! Enjoy!