Inspiration for dishes come to me in many forms. This Rapunzel inspired flower panna cotta came to me at the gym. I can’t recall what I was doing but I was listening to the Disney playlist on Pandora when the song “When Will My Life Begin?” came on. Judge me if you want but Disney just has a way of integrating life lessons…into catchy little tunes…that consistently hits me in the feels. This song shows Rapunzel, the mundane life she lives and her desire to break free from her “prison”. I’m sure some of you can relate. I know I did.
Around that time I was working on “The Grey Stuff” and knew I wanted to do a series of Disney inspired dishes. This flower panna cotta will be the first of many (The Grey Stuff was the first recipe but it did not belong to me). I have a blog, with no real theme and now I’m adding another branch…obviously, I lack direction for this blog, the recipes seem random and to that I say…”YES! I cook and create what inspires me at the time!” Currently my inspiration is drawn from a blonde woman with serious hair and identity issues.
I decided to start with Rapunzel for symbolic reasons.
- Like her, I am stepping out of my comfort zone to explore new territory.
- Like her, my parents are “slightly” irritated in my decision.
- The woman uses a cast iron skillet as her weapon of choice…that’s pretty alpha if you ask me!
This Rapunzel Inspired flower panna cotta has three main components. The panna cotta, spun sugar and edible flowers.
- The panna cotta is flavored with rose and lavender. I chose these flavors because I wanted to make this dish floral. Oh, and becasue the pink and purple resembles Rapunzel’s dress.
- The spun sugar is in this dish to resemble the long golden hair that Rapunzel is know for.
- The flowers are there for the fresh but slight bitterness and more importantly…for vanity. If you want to include flowers in your panna cotta then make sure they are edible. Death via panna cotta doesn’t sound too bad but best be avoided anyways. See notes for a chart.
Soooo, it looks pretty but what does it taste like? Flowers…like a field of flowers…without the dirt. The panna cotta is smooth with floral notes. The spun sugar gives this dessert a bit of crunch and sweetness.
You really just have to make and try it for yourself. I’m not sure how I can explain what rose and lavender taste like. I hope you guys enjoy this, I had an absolute blast making it! This recipe is my fifth, the first few attempts can be seen in my “Fails” page.
- 2 & 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 & 1/2 Cup Whole Milk Plus 2 tbsp
- 1 Tbsp Powdered Gelatin I used Knox
- 5 Tbsp Sugar
- Neutral Tasting Oil To grease the containers
- 2 tsp Rose Water
- 1-2 drops Red Food Coloring
- 2 tsp Dried Lavender Buds
- 3-4 drops Purple Food Coloring
- Spun Sugar Optional, see notes for video tutorial
- White Chocolate Bar Optional
- Edible Flowers Optional
- Stir the gelatin into a bowl with 2 tbsp of milk (give this 5-10 minutes to blossom). Prepare an ice bath that your pot will fit in.
- Throw your cream, milk and sugar into a pot. Over medium heat, bring this mixture to a gentle simmer (this will take 5-7 minutes). Make sure to not boil this, milk burns easily. Stir in the gelatin when you see little bubble. Mix until gelatin has dissolved.
- Pour half the mixture into a pot and mix with 2 tsp of rose water and 1-2 drops of red food coloring. Place this pot over the ice bath until it has cooled to room temp. Divide this mixture evenly among your containers and place them in the fridge. See notes.
- With the other half of the mixture, add in 2 tsp lavender buds and 3-4 drops of purple food coloring. Place this pot over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain the mixture to remove the lavender buds. Cover and set aside.
- When the rose layer has set (1-2 hours), pour in the lavender layer and return to fridge for at least 6 hours. Preferably overnight.
- Prior to serving, spin some sugar. See notes for an amazing video tutorial.
- If you would like to garnish with white chocolate curls then throw a bar of white chocolate into the freezer for 10 minutes then scrape with a knife.
The Panna Cotta recipe base is adapted from Russ Parsons' recipe here. He wrote an amazing article that breaks this dessert down.
Chart of edible flowers by buzzfeed here.
Video tutorial on how to spin sugar by sortedfood here.
Milk that has been cooked can be safely left at room temp for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
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