You can find the cake decoration post here. That day, we had a really hurried lunch, which we finished off with this simple, yet sublime, dessert which I made in a bit of a hurry. I randomly put in ingredients because I was really pressed for time the previous day, but made a note of them on a scrap of paper just in case it came out alright. I’m glad I did!!
Panna cotta is traditionally a dessert. Born in the Piedmont dairy country of northeast Italy, panna cotta is a soft, creamy, eggless custard whose name translates as “cooked cream.” Despite its luxurious texture and elegant presentation, panna cotta is simple to prepare: heat some heavy cream, add sugar, softened gelatin, and flavorings, and then chill until set. 
And though the name means cooked cream, many recipes are reinterpreted with other dairy products, including plain milk, creme fraiche, buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese, and mascarpone cheese. Some recipes include panna cotta made with vegetable purees, such as Cauliflower Panna Cotta with Truffle Oil, and panna cotta made with a variety. 
Panna Cotta has to be part of my current strawberry overdrive, as we’ve been surprised with the extended availability of the passionate berry this Spring. It’s been a bonanza since the market is still flooded with them, & I’m making the most of this rare opportunity. The weather has been fabulous so far as the summer heat is yet to set in, & it thundered & rained for a larger part of today. Todays soccer league finals were carried out in slushy wet ‘fun-for-the-kids’ fields! 
This panna cotta came out beautifully. Vera @ Baking Obsession rightly said on her Yogurt Panna Cotta post, the amount of gelatin is the deciding factor. Too much & you can be chewing elastic, too little & it won’t set. I find my panna cotta tends to set better after an overnight rest, so that’s one thing I always do. It also helps to get one thing done in advance & out of the way, if you have company visiting the next day.
Ingredients:
1 cup curd cheese – 1 cup (made by hanging yogurt for 24-48 hours in the fridge)
200ml low fat cream (25% fat)
1/2 cup sugar
200gms strawberries; hulled & quartered (save a couple for garnishing if you like)
1 tsp gelatin
1/4 cup milk (at room temperature)
Method:
She works as a senior product manager, is full of beans, and blogs @ 
She arrived with baskets of things, bits & bobs related to baking, 
Once that was done, we sprinkled the edges with the grated 
It was fun!! We did a cut-out butterfly on one, piped 
It’s strange, but most new veggies that appear seem to bear a generic China name. The large garlic we use is referred to as China garlic & now this pumpkin too. I think it’s a local way of increasing sales of something new…it works on me! I loved the idea of these little pumpkins, cute & pretty. With the West leaving fall way behind, the leaves are falling here in our part of the world, & spring is kind of here. Our seasons are different from other countries, & so is our fresh produce. 
We get the best of the seasons tomatoes, strawberries etc in the winter here, & it is indeed a season we in North India can’t wait for. So I hurried home with my pumpkin booty, googled, got to a 
The other thing demanding my attention was a box of pumpkin pie spice that my sis sent for me from Houston. YAY…a chance to use that too, thanks to the precious pumpkin!! Pie wasn’t on my mind; strangely I was thinking pumpkin panna cotta. Was also wondering how the kids would take to pumpkin…
Thought I’d check out the net, set out hesitatingly. Yes, something like a pumpkin panna cotta did exist! That decided, I set off to make the puree. Here’s the recipe for making puree from scratch, taken from this Washington Post feature 
“Making puree has only one real hurdle: Ideally, the pumpkin must be cut in half. I don’t expect to accomplish that in a single stroke. Using a large, heavy knife, I make one cut into the pumpkin. If I’m lucky, that cut will gain me enough leverage to pry the squash in two. (Sometimes I have to make a second cut to get a longer opening. I then use the knife to begin to split the pumpkin in half, and I finish the break using my hands.) If the split of the pumpkin isn’t perfect, you can trim the halves so they will sit flat in the pan. If the pumpkin has broken into several pieces, that’s okay. 
Next, use a big spoon to remove the seeds from the pumpkin halves. Line a large roasting pan with aluminum foil. Place the halves or pieces, flat side down, in the pan; add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a 350-degree oven and bake until the flesh is easily pierced with a fork. Depending on the size of the pumpkin, that can take anywhere from 45 to 75 minutes. Let the pumpkin cool, then flip the halves over and scrape the flesh away from the skin. Puree the flesh in a food processor until smooth.”
PUMPKIN PANNA COTTA
Method:
Caramel sauce is sold in jars but making it from scratch requires just three ingredients and only a few more minutes to put together. Butter, dark brown sugar and cream mingle in a sauce pan until the sugar melts and a rich sauce develops. 
If you are thinking of cooking a fresh pumpkin for a dessert recipe, don’t. It takes quite a bit of time (chopping, seeding, boiling, scraping) and you’re likely to be unhappy with the results. The cooked pumpkin probably will be watery and less flavorful than its concentrated canned counterpart. Pumpkins, just like all nature’s bounty, are not created equal. 
