Vanilla Chai Latte Panna Cotta

Here's my second attempt at panna cotta. It's truly beyond me why people don't have panna cotta every day of the week. It's so, so, so, so easy! It's also a great dessert for scorching hot summer days as it only requires about ten minutes in front of the stove and it results in a cool, creamy, refreshing treat. This time I built on a recipe from Dinner with Julie for chai panna cotta. I had a vanilla bean in the cupboard, so I threw it in the cream. When the panna cotta was ready, I tasted it without adornment and it was a little blah. Then I thought of things that are good on top of a latte. I added shaved semi-sweet chocolate and caramel sauce (the refrigerated ice cream topping kind). Then, after I took the picture, I thought of adding a dusting of cinnamon. This panna cotta went from okay to absolutely delicious.

If I do this again, and I think I will, I'll skip the skim milk altogether and replace it with more chai concentrate. Then the chai to dairy ratio will be more like a latte and hopefully have a little more kick.

Here's the recipe:

Vanilla Chai Latte Panna Cotta
Adapted from Dinner with Julie

Ingredients:
1/3 cup skim milk
2/3 cup Tazo chai concentrate
1 cup whipping cream
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1/3 cup sugar
1 package gelatin
1/4 cup water
semi sweet chocolate shavings
caramel sauce
cinnamon for dusting

Instructions:
1. Combine skim milk and chai concentrate in a sauce pan and heat to a simmer. Remove from heat. The chai can be made ahead. I made enough earlier to have a drink and have leftovers for the panna cotta.
2. Bring cream, sugar, and vanilla to a simmer in a sauce pan.
3. While cream is heating, combine gelatin and water in a small bowl. Allow to soften.
4. Remove cream from heat and stir in gelatin.
5. Whisk cream mixture into chai.
6. Pour into mould sprayed with non-stick spray.
7. Refrigerate until set. To serve, invert panna cotta onto a plate. Top with chocolate shavings, caramel sauce, and a dusting of cinnamon.


Pairs nicely with a cup of green tea.