I developed this recipe while I was a baker at Floriole many years ago. One of my favorite opening duties was to head to the rooftop garden right after daybreak to pick edible flowers and herbs to garnish the pastries for the day. I wanted to give our buttermilk panna cotta a springy update but found it an impossible choice to decide which flowers to include. I didn’t want any of them to feel left out, so I threw them all in and called it a “garden panna cotta.” This recipe can evolve with the seasons and what’s growing or blooming at the time.

Recommended herbs and flowers, plus lovely pairings:

Some fresh herbs and flowers have nuanced flavor profiles that are more sensitive to heat, and others require a little warm up to fully express themselves. Here is a guide of some of my favorite herbs and flowers, and which treatment they tend to prefer. If you don’t follow this, it’s certainly not the end of the world, but you may lose some nuance and delicacy of certain blossoms and leaves.

If you’re using dried herbs or flowers, they all need a bit of heat to release their flavor.

If making a cold infusion for tender herbs or flowers, place the herbs/flowers and cream in a blender and food processor and blend until the herbs have started to break down a bit. Don’t over blend or you’ll get whipped cream! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for an hour to a day, depending on the intensity of flavor you’d like.

To make a hot infusion for sturdier herbs and flowers, heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until steaming but not yet simmering, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and add herbs and flowers. Let steep until the flavor reaches your desired strength, about 20-30 minutes. For stronger flowers like lavender, give it a taste around 10 minutes. You can use immediately or store in the refrigerator for a day.

Herbs:

Tender (cold infusion): mint, lemon balm, tarragon, lemon verbena

Sturdy (hot infusion): rose geranium leaves, lemongrass, peach leaves, bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, sage

Flowers:

Tender (cold infusion): rose, elderflower, butterfly pea, lilac, cherry blossom

Sturdy (hot infusion): lavender, chamomile, calendula, safflower

Some Nice Pairings:

Mint + Lavender

Rose + Chamomile + Lemon Balm

Lemon Verbena + Butterfly Pea

Peach Leaf + Rose

Bay Leaf + Rosemary + Lavender

Safflower + Calendula + Lemongrass

Garden Party Panna Cotta

Prep: If cold steeping (see note on pg. 5), complete the night before.

Yield: six 6-ounce ramekins

468 grams / 2 cups heavy cream

Small handful of fresh or dried herbs and flowers, see suggestioned pairings

125 grams, ½ cup whole milk

1 envelope unflavored powdered gelatin

85 grams / ¼ cup honey, plus more for drizzling

3-finger pinch salt

114 grams / ½ cup buttermilk

Garnish: bee pollen, honey, flowers, herbs

Infuse the cream:

1. Infuse your flowers and herbs into the cream: see note above to determine whether a cold or hot infusion is most suited to the flowers and herbs you’ve selected.

2. Strain the cream through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl, composting the flowers and herbs, and set the infused cream aside.

3. Pour the milk into a small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let the mixture sit until grains begin to dissolve, about 5 minutes.

4. After the gelatin has bloomed, give it a good whisk and warm over low heat until the gelatin fully dissolves, 4 to 5 minutes. Do not let the mixture simmer, or the gelatin could become inactive.

5. Whisk in the honey, salt, and infused cream and let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes, or speed it up by using an ice bath: Pour liquid into a medium bowl and nestle it into a larger bowl filled with ice water. Once at room temperature, whisk in the buttermilk – it will curdle if the cream is too warm.

6. Pour your panna cotta base into ramekins and cover to avoid it developing a skin. Chill until set, at least 4 hours, or overnight. Serve with a drizzle of honey, a pinch of bee pollen, and/or a sprinkle of flowers and herbs.

This panna cotta is a blank slate, and can also be infused with ingredients like vanilla, citrus zest, spices, coffee – get creative, the world is your oyster! No mistakes in creativity, just experiments!

For more garden-inspired recipes and tips on starting a garden of your own, order Garden Party, Kitchen Sink Studio’s latest zine at kitchen-sink-studio.com.