Cassis Panna Cotta Verrines

Panna cotta is quite a simple dessert to make when you are pressed for time and/or ingredients.  You can even keep it simple or make it fancy into a layered verrines.  You can make a big portion in a ramekin or turn it into finger-food by giving small portions in creative containers.  Meow has come to appreciate the versatility and simplicity of this dessert.  I haven't realized how great panna cotta is until this one day I was invited to a potluck and did not really have much time to make a cake.  For me, making a cake requires a solid 3 hours in the kitchen, it is busy work throughout the 3 hours plus clean up time.  Even though this verrines does require plenty of time, probably about 2.5 hours total, there was plenty of down time in between.  The payoff is great too, you get cute little verrines that are well portioned and no mess compared to cake crumbs and broken slices, or even people missing out on the great dessert because a cake slice is too much for their diet *snicker*.

Meow has made panna cotta using this recipe before.  However, technique was different.  Previously, I did not whip my Additonal Dairy Option mixture into soft peaks and the result was just milk jello.  This time, the panna cotta turned out very mousse like.  I am starting to wonder if I can susbtitute this as a "very light mousse" instead of actually making mousse, because you know, making mousse is ass.  You have to cook the damn custard and also because of this, there is a minimum batch size which is still too much sometimes.

This is a master recipe for panna cotta.  A general how-to.  Therefore, if you wish to create different flavours and combinations and textures, you have this basic recipe to work off of.  If you follow the source link, there is a variation where you can create an even fluffier panna cotta, but that version cannot be unmolded like jello here.

Meow's breakfast one morning
WIN!

Meow's Two Bite Fancy Brownies

It was godsister's house warming party and I was responsible for dessert.  By this time I was working pretty much everyday and didn't have much time to bake and stuff (hence the lack of posts), so what can I whipped up in an evening?  BROWNIES!!

I followed the recipe on the side of a can of Fry's Cocoa.  I find that their recipe is by far the best.

Topped with some chocolate frosting...oh yeah!

I would like to think that my piping skills have improved :P 

An egg tray works surprisingly well as a mini cupcake carrier. 

The trays were a bit deep and hard to get the brownies out

without wrecking the pipe job, so I stuck fancy toothpicks

to help get it out. 

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Mini cupcakes

Cupcakes are just too fattening...what if I made small ones and I *could* just eat one little one?  Wishful thinking really, but it's self-denial.

I made them anyways in between making pork cutlets rice bowls during dinner.  Those little mini muffin pans must have a better use than to make two-bite brownies.

The most appealing part about cupcakes is the decorating part.  I'm not that creative, but I still have fun playing with the pastry bag.  Oh, this time, I got to play with the pastry bag TWICE!

This is a different cupcake base recipe as opposed to the previous wheat one.  The cupcake base recipe can also be applicable to making an actual 9" cake.  Frosting is the same recipe.

Vanilla Cake Layer
adapted from The Art & Soul of Baking


3/4 teaspoons of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of flour
6 oz of unsalted butter
1/2 cups of sugar
3 whole large eggs
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1/3 cup of sour cream (I used 14%)