Sweat Tweaks: Panna Cotta Pumpkin Pie

This is not your every day pumpkin pie, nor is it the wheel reinvented. Just think of it as your grandmothers station wagon with chrome spinners for rims. 

I wanted to take on Serious Eat's Sweet Tweaks challenge to take pumpkin sponge cake beyond its retro days as a over stuffed jelly role and shine a new light on the under appreciated sponge cake. To be honest, I have never once made a sponge cake. From the onset, I thought I was constructing a meringue based sorbet (which I did do last weekend. You will very soon see!) with all the whipping and egg whites involved. I wanted to create something off the wall but still hold on the the essence of the the jelly role and the holiday season. Thus, the birth of the Panna Cotta Pumpkin pie. 

Creamy, spongy, pumpkin-y, and sexy all at the same time( well maybe not sexy), this new age pumpkin pie will give a whole new meaning to Thanksgiving dessert. I have been wanting to make panna cotta for a while, so this gave me the perfect excuse to dive in. 

I first baked the sponge cake in a half sheet pan and once cooled, cut out two circles the same diameter as my spring pan. One the panna cotta was infused with cinnamon and cooled about 1.5 to 2 hours, I poured the viscus mixture over the bottom layer of cake in my spring pan. Pouring the cream mixture in while it was still slightly runny allowed the cake to soak up the yummy cream, and made a kind of cold bread pudding in the finished product. Once completely set, about 4 hours, I put the top layer on top of the panna cotta and chilled over night. The next morning the entire pie was completely congealed. I removed it from the spring pan and inverted it on to the serving plate. (I flipped it over so the gooey, pie-like side was on top and the firmer cake I put on top served as the crust.)

From the picture you can see the beautiful cross section of firm cake crust, creamy cinnamon panna cotta, and the a hybrid of the two for the top later. Serve cold with a drizzle of carmel.

Panna Cotta Pumpkin Pie- 

For the sponge cake see Serious Eats here.  Bake cake in a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Allow to cool before removing from pan. 

For the Cinnamon Panna Cotta

- Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

1 package unflavored gelatin - about 1 tbs. 

2 tbs. cold water

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half and half

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 stick cinnamon

In a small pan, sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let soften for about one minute. Heat the gelatin mixture over low heat until dissolved completely. 

In another pan, combine cream, half and half, sugar, and the cinnamon stick and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once at a boil, remove from heat, take out cinnamon, and pour in the dissolved gelatin. Stir to combine and let cool to room temperature. Allow to chill for 1.5 to 2 hours before assembly.

Assembly:

Cut two circles out of the sponge cake the same diameter as your spring pan. Layer the first round on the bottom of the pan and the pour the panna cotta mixture that has been chilled for 1.5 to 2 hours over the cake. The mixture should be rather viscus and think before pouring. 

Note: To help prevent leaks, place a sheet of saran wrap over the bottom disc of the pan before clamping the pan shut. 

Allow the pie to chill for 2 more hours before placing the second round of cake on top of the panna cotta. Chill over night.

When serving, invert the pie using a plate onto the desired serving dish. Serve with whipped cream and or carmel sauce. 

A Taste of Chocolate Cake

While visiting one of my all time favorite blogs, (and the one that inspired me to make my own) I was impressed with the looks of this awesome chocolate cake. Adam on The Amature Gormet wen on and on on how well this cake went over when he made it, and with family in town I thought it would be a perfect addition to our dinner. The recipe is Ina Garten's from the Barefoot Contessa, and like most of her treats it did not fail to impress. The batter was super super runny, which had me worried for a little while, but the cakes turned out very moist and had a rich overall flavor. The icing was out of this world as well. (no doubt thanks to the two sticks of butter)

Thank you Adam for a great cake idea! 

And no, the dogs did not get to taste the cake...that would be bad...for us and the dogs. 

Remembering Summer: Sorrel Tea

The other cranberry....but not a fruit at all. This Jamaican gem is slowly integrating its way back into U.S. homes at a fairly steady clip, and not wanting to be out of the loop I sent away for some of my very own pods. 

The dried flower of the hibiscus plant, hibiscus sabdariffa, received its name for its smell that was likened to the herb French Sorrel...which is big a green and not likely to yield a cool and refreshing tea. The Jamaicans, while having may uses for the flower, such as in jellies and wine, are not the only culture to take advantage of the plants unique taste. Ever had Red Zinger tea with that big red flower on the front of the package? That flower is a hibiscus/ sorrel. Latin Americans also have similar uses for sorrel and call their tea Jamaica, after the origins of the flower. (Hamica as they would pronounce it)

My plan of attack for making my first sorrel tea was simple- make it simple. Being in the south, I did the only southern thing to do - make sweet tea and sub the Lipton for sorrel pods. Note that this is a basic approach, but I really wanted to see what the flowers tasted like themselves before I added in all kinds of citrus and ginger and the like. If you would like to order your own hibiscus flowers, visit the Savory Spice Company. 

Sorrel Tea - -

8 c water

4 oz sorrel pods

2/3 c. sugar

Bring 4c of water to a boil, add sorrel, and remove from heat. Allow to steep for 15 minutes. While the flowers are steeping, mix the sugar and remaining 4c of water in a large pitcher until sugar is dissolved. Pour warm sorrel water through a mesh strainer and into the pitcher. Let cool and serve over ice. 

Note: Feel free to adjust sweetness as you would like. 

Persimmon and Goat Cheese Cupcakes

 

When I read the secret ingredient for my inaugural Iron Cupcake challenge was cheese, I was slightly disheartened to say the least. I had never used cheese in a dessert, especially a cupcake. Perplexed as to what to do, I let the Greenville Farmers Market solve my problems for me. I've just started using the local market, and let me just say for a small town market it has some great finds. Everything is so inexpensive in comparison to big chain supermarkets and you meet some pretty interesting people as well. 

So about my cupcakes - Randomly there just so happens to be a persimmon orchard ( I assume it is called an orchard, they grow on trees) 3 miles from from Greenville. Who would have thought? I had never used or tasted a persimmon - my brother likened them to an unripe tomato- so I was a little weary as I headed over to the vendor. As a felt over the fruits trying to figure out what in the world they could be used for, a nice oriental lady offered that persimmons go great in place of bananas in banana bread. Alright - so persimmon bread- how about persimmon cupcakes? I decided to go for it. 

After failing my first attempt, I worked out a recipe that yielded some nice looking (and tasting) cakes. 

Now i had my base, I just need to work out the finishing touches. Having just ordered a huge bag of sorrel, (dried hibiscus flowers) I knew I wanted to get them into the party. And there was still the cheese component I had to work on. I remembered reading a blogger that used goat cheese in his icing, and using that as inspiration I came up with a Sorrel Goat Cheese icing. 

I'd say for my first attempted at theme ingredient cupcake I was pleased with my efforts. The cupcakes were cooked perfectly and the icing was not overly sweet so the goat cheese could shine through. If you have the opportunity to get a hold of some persimmons give this one a whirl. Any icing would work perfectly on these if you don't have sorrel or are afraid of the goat cheese in your icing. 

Persimmon Cupcakes with Sorrel Goat Cheese Icing - -

For the cakes:

1 1/2 c. all purpose flower

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 c. whole milk, room temp. 

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp. 

1 c. sugar

1 large egg, room temp.

2 large egg whites, room temp

1/3 c. persimmon puree (3 to 4 ripe fruits)

1/8 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg 

For the icing:

8 oz. goat cheese

4 tbs. cream cheese

6 tbs. powdered sugar (or to taste)

3 tbs. sorrel syrup

- 4 to 5 sorrel florets 

  - 1 c. water 

- 2 tbs. sugar

For the cupcakes: 

Combine dry ingredients and sift. Mix together milk, vanilla, and persimmon puree and set aside. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in egg and egg whites one at a time, beating after each addition. Once combined, add half of the flour mixture and mix until Incorporated.  Add in wet milk mixture and mix followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Beat batter until all ingredients are Incorporated. Do not over mix. Portion batter into 12 cupcake papers and bake at 350 for 22 minutes. Allow to cool before icing 

For the Icing:

Allow sorrel florets to steep in warm water for 20 minutes or until water is dark red. Pour water in a sauce pot and put over high heat. Stir in sugar and reduce until the liquid yields 1/4 of a cup. (about 15 minutes) Allow to cool to room temp. Mix the cream cheese, goat cheese, sugar, and sorrel syrup until combined. Ice cooled cupcakes. 

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