Egg Nogg Pannacotta

This is my take on egg nog — same warming flavours, but set into a pannacotta and served cold in glasses. It's a make-ahead dessert: you do twenty minutes of work one evening, it sits in the fridge overnight, and you just add the raspberries before you serve. This is an adult dessert as well — if you are serving children, omit the brandy.

Ingredients

• 250ml coconut cream or jersey cream
• 250ml full-cream a2 milk
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
• 125g castor sugar
• 2 1/2 gelatine leaves (titanium strength)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 100ml brandy or cognac
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Raspberries, for garnish

Method

Gently heat the cream, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for five minutes, then drain the gelatine, squeezing the leaves lightly to get rid of excess water. Whisk the gelatine into the cream until dissolved and allow to cool for one hour. Whisk the eggs, brandy and vanilla extract into the cooled cream and pour into glasses. Refrigerate overnight, then garnish with raspberries before serving.

Gut tip: Cooking the cream gently rather than boiling it keeps the mixture smooth, and letting it cool for the full hour before the eggs go in stops them scrambling. Gelatine is also easy on most guts — it sets without any thickeners or starches to digest.

Dairy free: Use coconut cream and your favourite plant milk in place of the jersey cream and a2 milk and this becomes dairy free. The coconut cream gives it a lovely richness and the cinnamon and nutmeg still come through.