Coffee is so much part of our Italian culture and in our family drinking a good short Espresso is a daily tradition. My husband is proud of his ability to make a lovely cremina (which is a foam made by vigorously whisking a tiny bit of coffee and sugar), he really believes it’s a form of art!
For him a daily espresso coffee is a must, especially in the morning! So when we heard the news about Dolce Gusto launching a new espresso flavour we could not wait to try it!
The
new Dolce Gusto Ristretto Ardenza is definitely a typical Italian coffee. It’s a so called “ristretto” coffee which is shorter than a normal espresso yet full-bodied with a velvety crema layer. In Italy we call it ‘corto’ (short), because it is a very short espresso shot made with less water passing through the coffee. It’s the Italian people choice when it comes to order a coffee as most Italians drink their coffee quickly at the bar before heading to their offices.
Receiving a Dolce Gusto hamper is always a pleasant surprise. In the beautiful wrapped box, these lovely glass espresso cups and saucers were an extra treat! The glass cups are the perfect size for an espresso or a macchiato (an espresso with a bit of foam yum!) and I love these ones in particular as you can see the different layers that Dolce Gusto machine naturally creates.
Being coffee lovers, I cannot help but think that coffee has other uses a part from giving you a big boost in the morning so I browsed a bit online and found many recipes you can make that have a good short espresso, like Ristretto Ardenza, as ingredient.
My mother in law arrived on Saturday and I thought I’d treat her with a lovely three layers Coffee panna cotta (I’m such a wonderful daughter in law! Haha).
This is the very easy recipe, it just takes a little of time as you have to wait for every layer of panna cotta to settle before moving to the next one.
2 cups of espresso Dolce Gusto Ardenza
10 gelatine leaves
600ml of double cream
1 vanilla bean (I used a tbsp of vanilla extract)
9 tbsp of sugar
shaved dark chocolate for garnishing
Soak 4 gelatine leaves in cold water. Put in a saucepan 300 ml of double cream with 3 tablespoons sugar and one shot of espresso. As soon as it begins to boil remove the pan from the heat, add the squeezed gelatine and stir until dissolved. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes , then divide it into 4 glasses and fill them up to about half of their height. Cover the glasses with plastic wrap and place them in refrigerator for about hour.
Put another 2 sheets of gelatine to soften in a cold espresso coffee for 5 minutes, then add a small espresso cup of water, 3 tablespoons sugar and heat it on low heat until the gelatine is dissolved. Remove from heat, let the mixture cool and then pour 2 tablespoons in each glass on top of the previous panna cotta layer .
Soften other 4 sheets of gelatin in cold water . Heat other 300 ml of double cream with 3 tablespoons sugar and a vanilla bean ( I didn’t have it so I used a tbsp of vanilla extract). Bring to a boil , add the squeezed gelatin and let it dissolve . Remove from heat, allow the mixture to cool , divide it into glasses , cover again with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 2 hours.
Using a vegetable peeler, create some dark chocolate shavings and sprinkle some over the panna cotta glasses.
Buono!
