Dulcet Devotion

She’s all grown up now. Sweet but sensual. Familiar yet exotic. Youthful, yes, but she’s all woman.

Michael from Harvest Estate winery got in touch with me recently suggesting we join food and wine forces. When I first tasted their late harvest Gewurztraminer it was like nothing I’d drunk before. Lychee. Intoxicatingly sweet but never saccharine. And somehow, at the same time, heady and strong. Perfumed. Sophisticated, but not stuffy, with notes of rose and honey.

This girl knows what she’s doing.

This wine is all-consuming. She stays with you, gets under your skin. Never would she be content to simply accompany dessert. She longs to be a part of it.

So off I went to the kitchen, determined to create a dessert worthy of this worldly lass.

Introducing my lemongrass panna cotta with Harvest Estate gewürztraminer syrup and soft ginger biscuits.

The wine remains the hero as a lychee-sweet amber syrup shielding the gently cooked lemongrass cream. Pushing through the honeyed layer you’re rewarded with firm, exotically perfumed panna cotta. A chewy bite of ginger biscuit then warms the back of your throat with its understated, comforting spice. The experience is so special, so new, so overwhelming. You can hardly wait to do it all again.

Huge thanks to Harvest Estate for sharing their precious girl with me and getting me back into the kitchen with gusto. I’m back and I’m all grown up, so watch out! There’llbe much more to come on the blog very soon.

5.0 from 1 reviews

She's All Grown Up Now: Lemongrass Panna Cotta, reduced wine syrup and soft ginger biscuits

 

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Sweet sticky syrup topping a subtly perfumed lemongrass panna cotta. Pair with soft ginger biscuits.

Author: Melanie

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 8 portions

Ingredients

• Panna Cotta
• 4 cups (1l) heavy cream (or half-and-half)
• ½ cup (100g) sugar
• 3 lemongrass stalks, bruised with the side of a knife.
• 1 packet powdered gelatin (about 2½ teaspoons)
• 6 tablespoons (90ml) cold water
• Ginger Biscuits
• 250g butter 200g (1 cup, firmly packed) soft brown sugar
• 250mls (1 cup) golden syrup
• 3 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tablespoon boiling water
• 450g (3 cups) plain flour, sifted
• Gewurztraminer Syrup
• 1 cup wine
• ½ cup honey
• 3 slices fresh ginger (or to taste)

Instructions

1. Panna Cotta
2. Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan or microwave. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and add the lemongrass stalks. Cover, and let infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the stalks then rewarm the mixture before continuing.
3. Lightly oil eight custard cups with a neutral-tasting oil.
4. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Pour the very warm panna cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
6. Divide the panna cotta mixture into the prepared cups, then chill them until firm, which will take at least two hours but I let them stand at least four hours.
7. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each panna cotta and unmold each onto a serving plate (I served the panna cotta in cups so skipped this step).
8. (panna cotta recipe adapted from David Lebovitz's Perfect Panna Cotta)
9. Ginger Biscuits
10. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
11. Combine butter, brown sugar, golden syrup, ginger and cinnamon in a large saucepan and stir over medium heat until well combined. Heat, stirring frequently, over medium heat until almost to boiling point and then remove from the heat.
12. Pour the butter mixture into a large bowl and set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly.
13. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the boiling water and then stir into the butter mixture. Add the plain flour and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.
14. Use a teaspoon to spoon the mixture onto the lined baking trays to form rounds about 3cm in diameter. Leave plenty of room for each to spread.
15. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until a medium golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on the trays. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Store in an airtight container.
16. (gingernut biscuit recipe c/o taste.com.au)
17. Gewurztraminer Syrup
18. Add all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer on medium heat until reduced to a syrup.
19. Pour over set panna cotta and serve.

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