Smoked Madagascar Vanilla Panna...Smoked Madagascar Vanilla Panna Cotta with Blackberry-Rosemary Gelee

An elegant, multi-textured modern dessert featuring velvety applewood-smoked cream, a vibrant blackberry-rosemary gelee, microwave pistachio sponge, and crispy salted honeycomb.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   Combine heavy cream and whole milk in a bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, insert the hose of a smoking gun charged with applewood chips, fill the bowl with smoke, seal, and let infuse for 10 minutes.

2. 02

   Bloom 2 sheets of gelatin in ice water for 5 minutes. Transfer the smoked cream and milk to a saucepan, add 60g of sugar, and the scraped vanilla bean and pod. Bring to a gentle simmer, remove from heat, discard the pod, stir in the squeezed gelatin until dissolved, and strain through a fine chinois. Pour into silicone dome molds and refrigerate for at least 4 hours until set.

3. 03

   For the gelee, bloom the remaining 1 sheet of gelatin. Simmer blackberries, 30g of sugar, lemon juice, and the rosemary sprig in a small saucepan for 8 minutes until berries break down. Strain through a fine sieve, whisk in the bloomed gelatin, and let cool slightly. Pour a thin layer over the set panna cottas, and return to the refrigerator to set.

4. 04

   For the honeycomb, heat the remaining 30g of sugar, honey, and 15ml of water in a deep saucepan until it reaches 150°C (300°F). Instantly remove from heat, vigorously whisk in the baking soda for 3 seconds as it foams, then pour immediately onto a silicone baking mat. Sprinkle with Maldon salt, let cool, and shatter into delicate shards.

5. 05

   For the pistachio sponge, blend the pistachio paste, egg whites, remaining sugar, and flour until completely smooth. Strain and pour into a 0.5L whipping siphon, charge with two N2O chargers, and shake vigorously. Express the foam into paper cups with three small slits cut in the bottom, filling them halfway. Microwave each cup on high for 40 seconds, invert immediately, let cool, and tear into rustic, moss-like pieces.

6. 06

   To plate, carefully unmold the gelee-topped panna cotta onto the center of a chilled plate. Artfully arrange pieces of the vibrant green pistachio sponge, salted honeycomb shards, and halved fresh blackberries around the base.