Another Chance

I know I've said before that I would never ever attempt any recipe which uses avocado because of the failures that I've experienced, guess I actually ate my words. In all honesty, I love avocado..that is the fruit itself, without anything in it. Somehow when I try to re-create desserts using the fruit, something goes wrong.

After a couple of years , I'm courageous enough to try it once again. Although I can't really say I'm crazy with the result, nevertheless I feel this is quite an improvement compared to my previous attempts. Here, the avocado flavour was very subtle, in fact it was not discernable. The panna cotta was very smooth and creamy which reminded me of this. On it's own, it was good but there was nothing outstanding about it. It was recommended to pair it with chocolate butter cookies and I very much agree that when eaten together, it was really good. The smooth creamy texture of the panna cotta was a contrast to the chocolatey buttery and crumbly texture of the cookies. I like the combination.






Avocado Panna Cotta
recipe adapted from : Dulce by Joseluis Flores

8 g unflavored gelatin powder
1/4 cup + 1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
75 g granulated sugar
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tbsp vanilla paste
60 g ripe avocado pulp


Sprinkle the gelatin over the 1/4 cup milk. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften.

In a medium saucepan, slowly bring 1 cup cream, milk, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla paste to a boil for a minute. Add the gelatine mixture until dissolved.

When gelatine has dissolved, pass the cream mix through a fine colander. Cool in ice bath (stir occasionally)

Puree avocado pulp using a food processor. Add the cooled milk cream mixture and puree again until smooth.

Pour mixture into the moulds or ramekins. Leave in the fridge for 2-3 hours to set.

Serve cold in ramekins with chocolate butter cookies on the side.



Chocolate Butter Cookies

170 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
120 g confectioners sugar sifted
180 g plain All Purpose flour
30 g custard powder or cornflour
50 g cocoa powder
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 350 F

In a medium bowl,cream butter and icing sugar until pale and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg yolk.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, custard powder and cocoa powder. Add to the creamed mixture. Refrigerate until cold for 30 minutes or overnight.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-third at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/8 to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut using cookie cutter of choice. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12 minutes until they look dry.