This is a wonderfully elegant & easy dessert – perfect for your next dinner party! The best part is, it needs to be made in advance, so there is no last minute fussing to get dessert ready, & that means you have more time with your guests!

There are so many things I love about this dessert -the vibrant colours, the play on textures with the sweet & creamy panna cotta, to the cool, slightly tart granita. I can’t wait for you all to try it!

Serves 6

Ingredients:

Panna Cotta:

600ml Thickened Cream

1 Cup & 4 Tablespoons milk, divided

220g White chocolate, finley chopped

2 Tablespoons caster sugar

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 Teaspoon good quality vanilla extract

3 Teaspoons powdered geletine

Granita:

4 Medium blood oranges

1 large grapefruit

3/4 Cup caster sugar

1/2 Cup water

Method:

Juice the citrus. You should have one & a half cups total. Set aside.

Add the water & sugar to a small saucepan.

Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has disolved. Set aside to cool.

Once the syrup has cooled, add in the juice & mix until combined.

Pour the mixture into a 28 x 18cm baking pan & pop in the freezer.

Let the granita chill in the freezer for 30 minutes before removing & scraping the mixture with a fork to create a slushy texture. Repeat this every 30 minutes for 3 hoursor until frozen into an firm slushy texture.

Serve as is or keep in freezer for up to a week. To regain the granita texture if keeping for longer than a day, you may need to fluff up the ice again before serving.

For the panna cotta:

In a small bowl, add the geletine & 4 tablespoons of milk, mix well with a fork to dessolve the geletine. Set aside.

Set a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat, adding is the cream, one cup of the milk & the sugar. Once the mixture is hot, but not boiling turn off the heat & add in the chopped chocolate, sal & vanilla. Stir until all the chocolate has melted.

Add the geletine into the cream mixture & stir until all dissolved.

Strain the mixture into 6 x 300ml capasity, filling three quater of the way in each. Straining the mixture allows for a silky smooth panna cotta.

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.

Cover each cup with cling wrap, taking care to make sure the cling wrap sits directly on the panna cotta – this stops a skin from developing while it chills.

Chill in the fridge for minimum 5 hours, preferrably overnight.

When ready to serve, you can serve the panna cotta in the cups, or you may prefer to turn them out onto a plate. To turn them out, run a sharp thin knife or off-set spatula in between the cup & dessert. If they are been stubborn (which sometimes happens!) you can run the cup under some hot water for a few sconds & that should do the trick. Top the panna cotta with as much or as little of the granita as you like, serve immediately & enojy!