Chef's Table

Holiday Ale Panna Cotta

A delicate, light and full of flavor, this panna cotta dessert is infused with vanilla and all the flavors from a holiday ale.

CourseDessert
CuisineBeer Cuisine, Italian, Vegetarian
Cooking Beer StyleHerb & Spice Beer
SeasonalFall Seasonal, Winter Seasonal
Food SectionDairy, Pudding
Cooking MethodBaking with Beer, Cooking with Beer
BreweryAnchor Brewing Co., Beer Advocate
KeywordCooking with Beer

Servings	Prep Time
8guests	10minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
20minute	4hour

Servings	Prep Time
8guests	10minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
20minute	4hour

Ingredients

Holiday Ale Panna Cotta Ingredients:

2 1/4teaspoon gelatin, unflavored,equal to one package | envelope
10ounce Holiday Spiced Ale,such as Anchor Brewing Christmas Ale or other *
1/4cup sugarsuch as Soft Belgian Candi Sugar – Brown, organic sugar or maple syrup
2cup cream, heavypreferably organic
1each vanilla bean, split in half,available at Beer, Beer and More Beer
1each cinnamon stick, whole
1pinch salt, kosher

To Serve:

1recipe Cherry Flanders Red Sauce,recipe here

Instructions

Holiday Ale Panna Cotta Directions:

In a small saucepan, add the gelatin and 2 ounces of ale, mixing to combine, letting the gelatin bloom for 2 minutes. Place the pan over low heat and warm the mixture to melt the gelatin.
Add the remaining ale, cream, sugar of choice, vanilla bean, cinnamon and salt to a large saucepan and place over low heat. Slowly bring this mixture to a simmer, infusing the flavors of the vanilla bean and ale in with the cream. Turn heat off and let sit for 15 minutes. Bring mixture back to a simmer, remove from the heat, discard the vanilla bean (rinse and dry, adding to a jar of sugar to make vanilla sugar) and add the gelatin, mixing to combine.
Pour this mixture into eight serving containers; either ramekins if the dessert will be unmolded on a plate, or a beer glass or other small bowl. Cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to up to three days in advance.

To Serve:

If unmolding, dip each ramekin into a bowl of hot water for 20 seconds, then dip a paring knife into the hot water, heating the blade; wipe clean and carefully run the edge around the diameter of the dish. Invert a serving plate atop the ramekin and flip both, giving a light wiggle, helping the panna cotta release. Serve by itself or top with a spoonful of Cherry Flanders Red SauceCherry Sauce.

Recipe Notes

Holiday Ale Panna Cotta Recipe Variations:

To extenuate subtle flavors in the beer, play with different sugars. With light | dark brown sugar, sugar in the raw, Belgian Soft Candi Sugar, Palm Sugar, Organic Coconut Sugar, Organic Maple Sugar, and the list goes on and on. Each of these sugars has a different flavor attribute over just regular sugar. With some refined and other not, the different flavors of caramel, vanilla, rum, and toffee offer a different level of sweetness. With the holiday ale’s flavor, try different styles of sugar in this recipe to enhance these flavors.