In the mood for dessert, anyone?

Recently, I've been making quite a bunch of confectionaries, since it is both a hobby and a way to pass time when I can't sleep. Haha. So I guess I'll share them with you, the reader, in case you have any interest in picking up baking, or something along the lines of that. Okay, it's just an excuse to post more crap, but that's okay. Muwaha.

Soo, I recall seeing this one recipe for some altered asian version of panna cotta the other day in a fashion magazine (irrelevant, ne) and decided to try it out by making a few more changes. It was originally for a vanilla pod and orange flavour panna cotta, but I made a new kind with maccha (Japanese Green Tea) and azuki (Japanese Sweet Red Bean). So I guess it's somewhat more Japanese-Italian than anything, haha. Anyways, it's super easy to make but the result is very delicious. It's very light on the stomach, and refreshing as a spring snack especially when made with fruits. It's made with basic ingredients, so you can toss this together as a quick dessert for dinner or an afternoon snack with any fruits you have lying around and some dairy from the fridge.

I made it just this morning, but it was out of whim and before I even decided I wanted to make a blog, so I didn't take pictures. D;
I'll probably make more in the evening or tomorrow after I restock on fresh cream, then I'll add pictures to this post, just hang on until then! So without further ado...


Japanese Green Tea Azuki Panna Cotta

Yields around 4 servings

Ingredients:
150ml Fresh Milk
100ml Heavy/Whipping Cream
1/2 cup White fine granulated sugar
1/4 cup Japanese azuki bean (packaged or canned)
5g Gelatin powder
3 tbsp. Japanese Green Tea powder
2 tbsp. Water

Cooking:
1. Pour the milk and cream into a small saucepan/pot and put in on the stove, using low heat. Use a wooden spoon and slowly stir in the sugar. After stirring until the sugar dissolves, add in the green tea powder and stir gently until you can no longer see the powder and the milk mixture turns a nice shade of light green. Leave it and wait until the milk mixture turns to a low boil.
2. In the meanwhile, fill a large bowl with cold water and ice cubes, then place another bowl into the big bowl, in order to chill the milk mixture later on.
3. Now, add the two tablespoons of water into the gelatin powder and mix until gelatin granules dissolve.
4. You should see small bubbles beginning to appear on the side of the saucepan filled with the milk mixture by now. Turn off the heat. Don't let it actually boil because the milk will curdle and then it'll taste like cheese, or something. Add in the gelatin liquid and stir until it blends in with the milk mixture.
5. Now slowly pour the mixture into the chilled bowl you prepared earlier in step two. Stir in the azuki beans and mix well. If you bought azuki beans, then it'll be alright to just stir for a bit. If you bought azuki bean paste, then you'll have to stir for a bit and sort of 'knead' the paste with your plastic spatula for a bit so that it blends in with the milk mixture.
6. Wait until the mixture is slightly cool, warm or room temperature. Prepare some petite glass cups (you be the artist) to fill the mixture with. The azuki beans in the mixture will sink to the bottom, so what you do is scoop up the azuki bean first with and spoon them into the small glasses first. Distribute them evenly. You can also just put azuki beans into the glasses beforehand and not mix them with the mixture, but I like to because the overall taste will be somewhat different.
7. Now you pour the remaining green tea mixture into the glasses. If you use small shot glasses instead, you could yield around 8-9. Chill them in the fridge for an hour or so, then it's ready to serve!
*You can make them look fancy by decorating them. What I do is add a dallop of fresh whipped cream on top and sprinkle with the green tea powder, then add a sprig of mint. Voila!

I find them really easy and quick to make, so you can prepare them right before dinner or even the day before. I like to make and serve them on the same day, because I find that it's creamier and softer to eat fresh, after a day or so it's more firm, though the taste doesn't change. I like the azuki beans because it adds a sort of 'surprise' to the whole thing. It's on the bottom, so you have to eat to the end to see it! This is the first time I'm ever teaching someone my recipes, I just realised. Anyways, if you do decide to make this, I hope you enjoy! And tell me how it went. ;o