Greek Panna Cotta

Although panna cotta is often regarded as a traditional Italian dessert, according to one story it was invented by a Hungarian woman who lived in Italy at the beginning of the 20th Century. This recipe adds a Greek twist with a coffee simple syrup base.

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Prepare coffee by boiling coffee blended in 1/2 cup of water until it foams up. Drain the coffee through a paper lined sieve to remove all the grains. Prepare syrup by mixing sugar and and water. Add the strained coffee. Simmer over low heat and continuously stir until syrup forms (approximately 15 to 20 minutes). Remove the syrup from heat if it foams up too much for a second and then place back on the heat and continue stirring. Fill dessert glasses or ramekins to 1/4 inch.

Melt the gelatin in 1/4 cup water (*equivalent 2 tablespoons gelatin). Set aside. Heat the milk, cream, sugar and vanilla until it steams (do not boil). Once hot, pour over the gelatin to melt it into the milk mixture thoroughly. Carefully pour the mixture into prepared dessert glasses and chill for at least 3 hours.

Lightly dust with coffee powder to serve. Makes 8 to 12 servings (depending on size of container).