Smooth and creamy coconut milk panna cotta is layered with a fresh strawberry glee for a simple but beautiful summer dessert. This coconut strawberry panna cotta is the perfect make-ahead dessert as well.
You will need:
For Strawberry Gelee layer,
Fresh strawberries - 1 cup, chopped
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Cornstarch - 2 tsp
Water - 2 tbsp
For Coconut Panna Cotta layer,
Unflavored gelatin - ¼ oz or 2¼ tsp
Full-fat coconut milk - 2 cups
Heavy cream - 1 cup
Sugar - ¼ cup
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
How to:
Strawberry Gelee: Puree the strawberries in a blender and sieve with a fine-mesh strainer for a smooth puree. (You can also use other berries like raspberries, blueberries or blackberries.)
In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water to make a smooth slurry.
Take the strawberry puree, sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch slurry in a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Allow to come to a gentle boil and whisk constantly for a couple more minutes until it begins to looks glossy.
Remove from heat and cool slightly. Pour into 6 small glasses or dessert cups and allow to set in the refrigerator, at least an hour. (You can speed up the process by placing them in the freezer but watch them carefully as you do not want to freeze the gelee.)
Coconut Panna Cotta: Take ¼ cup coconut milk in a shallow bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it. Allow gelatin to bloom, 2-3 minutes (the gelatin granules will absorb the liquid and expand). Set aside.
In a large saucepan, combine the rest of the coconut milk, heavy cream and sugar and cook on medium-high heat. The liquid should be heated just until it begins to boil, but does not actually do so. You want it to be hot but not boiling.
Remove promptly from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Add the bloomed gelatin and whisk well for a couple of minutes to completely dissolve the gelatin in the hot mixture. Whisk until a metal spoon dipped into the panna cotta does not have any grains of gelatin stuck on it or you can use your fingers to see if there are any grains in it.
Cool the smooth panna cotta slightly. Gently pour it over the chilled strawberry gelee layer in the cups. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate until set, 4 hours or overnight.
Garnish with fresh strawberries and mint leaves just before serving.
Notes:
1. The prep time does not reflect the panna cotta chilling time, so plan accordingly. 2. You can use 1½ cups of whole milk instead of coconut milk for regular panna cotta. You can also sweeten panna cotta with honey or not sweeten it at all and simply serve it with fresh fruit for a low-sugar dessert. 3. For a completely dairy-free version, use 3 cups of full-fat coconut milk in this recipe and no heavy cream at all. You can also try other plant based milks like almond or soy milk as well. The gelatin allows any kind of liquid to set easily. 4. And of course, you can always chill the panna cotta layer at the bottom of the glasses and pour the gelee on top. If you have time, you can also make multiple layers of panna cotta and gelee.
Recipe by At The Corner of Happy And Harried at https://www.happyandharried.com/2018/04/28/coconut-strawberry-panna-cotta/