Handcuffed Dictator
Based on:
TypeDessert
Serves4 people
DateSeptember 28, 2026
Neat panna cotta cells with a bitter chocolate cuff: a scandal in dessert form.
A row of neat panna cottas shaped like prison cells, each bound with a dark chocolate 'handcuff'. Clean on the outside, with a sharp, bitter undertone – a dessert reflecting the comedian’s cell sentence and the bashful dictator.
Ingredients
- 600 ml heavy cream
- 100 ml whole milk
- 80 g sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
- 5 sheets gelatin
- 100 g dark chocolate (at least 70%)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 8 ladyfingers
- 1 tbsp butter
Method
- Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water for 5 minutes.
- Bring the cream, milk, sugar, and split vanilla pod to a boil. Let steep for 5 minutes.
- Remove the vanilla pod. Squeeze out the gelatin and dissolve it in the warm cream.
- Pour the mixture into 4 small rectangular molds. Let set in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
- Melt the dark chocolate with the butter in a bain-marie. Let cool slightly.
- Remove the panna cotta from the molds and place them in a neat row on a long plate.
- Cut the ladyfingers in half. Place half a ladyfinger on each side of every panna cotta as bars.
- Use a spoon to draw a thin, tight chocolate band around each panna cotta as a handcuff.
- Dust the tops with a bit of cocoa powder for a bitter note.
Serving notes
- Serve on a long plate so the cells and cuffs are immediately visible.
- Optionally, place a small bowl of extra dark chocolate cream in the center as 'security'.