#128 Custard Panna Cotta with Poached Rhubarb and Crumble
It’s 8:11 on Wednesday morning and I just put a sticky ginger cake in the oven… without the sugar in it. Good one Steph! I’m not sure how this happened, I thought about the sugar, I remember the moment, stood by the larder cupboard returning the bag of self-raising flour (which was the reason behind making this cake, btw… I have a bag that needs to be used up) when I thought, ‘oh yes, must grab the brown sugar’. What occurred between this thought, the batter entering the tin and the penny dropping is still a mystery to me. Evidentially, my head fell off. But the upshot is that we basically have soda bread baking at this point and I’m telling you now, that wasn’t the vibe I was going for.
OK, I’m dramatising a touch because there is also golden syrup and treacle in this cake, so technically, there is some sugar in there but it’s just not what it should be, OK? and this has made me huffy and sad.
I remember chef Adam Handling making a ‘Mistake Cake’ as part of his dessert called ‘Food Fight’ on Great British Menu a few years back (LOVE that GBM is back on our screens, don’t you?). If I remember right, he incorrectly weighed out the ingredients when preparing the cake in practice and the result was an even better cake than the one he had planned, cue a very happy accident. There is a small, very naive part of me that hopes I may have created something similarly magical. But I’m currently quite confident this won’t be the case…
I’m also looking at this cake in the oven and I’m not sure the tin size is correct which is doubly crushing.
I feel like this sets the tone of this week, a sort of clumsy, expletive riddled week. Do you ever have them? Where you do silly, stupid, very mess-inducing things on repeat? Like showering the wall with marsala coffee (this happened) and stomping straight through a swampy puddle (also happened… twice, RIP trainers), and catapulting tinned tuna across the room (do NOT, I repeat, do NOT accidentally whack the handle of a spatula that’s sat in a bowl of tuna… unless you like tuna confetti, in which case, go ahead) and missing the Moka pot when filling it with coffee, and rubbing my eyes/lip/cheek having just chopped chilli? Who created the rule that this ALWAYS happens? Yes, that gives you a feel for the week.
On a much more positive note… I serendipitously made a quite marvellous leek, Cavolo Nero, tarragon and ricotta savoury tart* (the name I give quiche when I’m trying to make it sound more sophisticated) – the rye pastry I made for this was also fabulous! - a remake of my tiramisu roll cake, AND… I put that vibrant happy-induing poached rhubarb I mentioned last week to good use, pairing it with a custard panna cotta and crunchy crumble. It’s a sort of grown-up dessert but has flavours that bring back memories from my childhood. Rhubarb and custard sweets, meets rhubarb crumble and custard.
You really must try making the poached rhubarb element of this recipe if nothing else… once poached, transfer it to the fridge and leave the flavours to meld overnight, serve on whatever you like: porridge - YES, with yoghurt - absolutely, on rice pudding – no brainer! I seriously cannot get enough of it. If you prefer a warm dessert at this time of year, you could freestyle – serve the rhubarb warm with just the crème anglaise element of the panna cotta (omit the gelatine) and a big handful of the crunchy crumble scattered over the top – heaven!
Other notable bits and bobs.
Firstly, CONGRATULATIONS - we’ve made it through the 500 days of January, go us!
… AND… I SAW MY FIRST CROCUS OF THE YEAR on Wednesday. Obviously Mum had to identify this flower for me, (I’m very illiterate in ‘flower’ lingo). But I know that seeing this beauty means spring, I also know it’s colourful, and cheerful, and I am HERE for it.
I’ve never been a massive fan of a (Tunnock’s) chocolate teacake… you know the ones with the biscuit and marshmallow and chocolate? It’s all too sweet, a textural minefield and just not for me. However, I’ve seen a trend for freezing them online and given that I believe everything is improved with some freezer treatment (maybe with the exception of bread), I’ve now got an urge to try it out which is quite bizarre - has anyone had a go?
I managed to slice my thumb whilst chopping a pepper for my salad on Thursday and have lived with various phases of regret since. First there was the bloody mess i had to clear up, then I convinced myself that the salad had a finger-y flavour to it, (not entirely delicious), I keep losing the plasters I stick on it to protect it and, in attempt to keep the wound/plaster free from further peril, have taken to keeping it out of the way and am permanently giving everyone a thumbs up.
Guacamole (ish): perfectly ripe mashed avo, a squeeze of lime, couple of chopped cherry toms, drizz of EVOO, handful of chopped fresh coriander, pinch of chopped red chilli. Slap it on everything, (not your face, it’s not a face mask), dreamy.
OK, I think that’s about it for this week, I do hope you’re all doing ok? And as ever, am sending so much love!
Steph X X X
p.s. I know you’re all DYING to hear the verdict of the ginger cake… you know what? It’s not terrible at all. It’s soft, fiery with ginger - would probably be quite brilliant warm with something butterscotch-y and creamy. I’d say the crumb is slightly compromised, (a little crumbly) but not quite the calamity I feared. I will, however, be making it again (this time the version I initially intended to make - with the sugar) and I’m optimistic the result might be something even more marvellous, that you will undoubtedly want to make - leave it with me.
Custard Panna Cotta with Poached Rhubarb and Crumble
Ok, I’ve given you a pretty good summary of this cutey already, but let’s have another quick rundown.
Firstly the Panna Cotta - for me, this is LITERAL comfort, there’s something about vanilla and creamy stuff that just feels like a foodie blanket, a tonic, a message from the Universe that everything is going to be OK, you know?
Unfortunately, preparing it does carry a slight degree of peril in that we have to make a crème anglaise (the fancy name for silky pouring custard) which can feel a bit scary because we teeter around scrambled egg territory as we heat it up to the desired temperature/consistency. However, THIS article explains a lot of the technicalities and tricks to mitigate disaster. It’s honestly so worth trying to make proper crème anglaise like this - you will possibly fail a few times (I have), but once you crack it, you’ll be so happy (and will possibly make this your primary source of hydration forever more). To transform this liquid gold into wobbly heaven, you just whisk bloomed gelatine into the warm custard mixture, allow it to cool a bit and portion it into moulds, leave it to set overnight and TA DA!!!! As explained above, you can also simply omit the gelatine and enjoy the custard warm or chilled over desserts - just remember to cover the surface with clingfilm and chill it if not using straight away and, if reheating, don’t take the temp above 80C as this is when things get eggy!
The recipe below is enough for two decent sized portions, you could probably stretch it 3 ways OR double the ingredient quantities to yield 4-6 portions. If you don’t fancy the bother of turning out the panna cotta, you can also serve it in ramekins - it’s a pretty flexible thing of beauty.
*I refer to both crème anglaise and custard in this recipe - I’m talking about the same thing, it’s just easier to write custard!
Next up the poached Yorkshire rhubarb. OK, I know rhubarb can be quite expensive to buy and isn’t always that easy to get your hands on, but if you fancy a treat, it’s so worth trying whilst it’s in season. I love it poached in the oven with some blood orange juice for a little tanginess and the most perfect vivid pink colour.
Note, the sugar proportion might seem quite high in this recipe, but I find this amount is best for perfectly sweetening the rhubarb. A fair proportion of the sugar ends up in the syrup which you can reserve, then pop in a saucepan over a medium heat and reduce a little to make a syrupy rhubarb sauce for ice cream OR save as a ‘soak’ for cakes, epic!
Finally, the crumble element is a simple shortbread style crumble, I’ve suggested the smallest amount possible, but it still makes more than you will need. Luckily, it keeps well AND you can sprinkle it on other stuff… or just snack on it through the week - it’s obv delicious!
Right, I think that is all you need to know - time to get cracking! I hope you like it!
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