Dairy Free Coconut Panna Cotta

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Panna cotta is an Italian dessert meaning ‘cooked cream’. Interestingly enough you won’t see the mention of panna cotta in cookbooks until the 1960’s, but it is generally credited as being a traditional Italian dessert. As the name implies, this dessert is traditionally cooked cream with sugar and gelatin. There are many variations, but it is often served with some sort of fruit puree or compote. Silky, light, and creamy, this is the perfect summer time dessert, and I remember making, and selling out annually when I worked in the restaurant industry. Drawing on my previous experience I set out to make a dairy free, SCD compliant version. It took some tinkering, but the final result is divine! The texture is extremely similar, and the flavors remain largely the same. This is one of my favorite desserts for summer entertaining as well. It is cold and creamy, and can be made ahead with no fuss. Not to mention, guests are always impressed with this sophisticated dessert! Feel free to follow the recipe for the topping, but replace the cherries with any fruit you’d like. Be sure to bookmark this one! It’s a keeper!  

Dairy Free Coconut Panna Cotta

Serves 2
Prep: 45 min
Chilling: 6 hours                                                                                                                                                                                           Total: 6 hours 45 min
Beginner

Ingredients:

For Panna Cotta: 

1 ½ Cups almond milk, no thickeners

½ Cup coconut milk, no thickeners 

1 Tbsp. cashew butter, no additives unroasted

1 ½ tsp. unflavored gelatin 

2 Tbsp. honey 

½ tsp. vanilla extract, vanilla bean and alcohol only 

1 lemon, zested 

 

For Fruit Compote: 

4 Cups dark cherries, fresh and pitted or frozen

2 lemon, juiced and zested

¼ Cup honey 

      Method Of Prep:

  1. Gather and prep ingredients.
  2. Place ½ cup of almond milk in a small bowl, and sprinkle gelatin on top. Let this sit for 5 minutes to bloom.
  3. Strain your coconut milk so you aren’t using any of the fat, but just the liquid itself. Set aside.
  4. Next, place the rest of the almond milk, strained coconut milk, and honey in a small saucepan. Turn the burner to medium heat and whisk until the honey is completely dissolved.
  5. The liquid should be hot at this point and simmering. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes.
  6. Whisk in the almond milk gelatin mixture, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Let sit for 10 minutes to steep. This will impart the lemon flavor.
  7. After 10 minutes have elapsed strain the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove the lemon zest.
  8. Now we are ready to fill our ramekins. I like to use wine glasses, but whatever you have available is fine. For the glassware I use a muffin tin to tilt them in so the panna cotta sets up at an angle. This is all for looks, so if you would rather use regular ramekins feel free.
  9. Leaving the glassware in the muffin tin, transfer to the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
  10. While the panna cotta is setting up, make the fruit compote.
  11. In a small saucepan add cherries, lemon juice and zest.
  12. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 10-12 minutes or until reduced and thick. Set aside to cool.
  13. Refrigerate until ready to assemble the dessert.
  14. Once ready to assemble, remove your glassware from the tin and sit up straight.
  15. Add in cherry topping so it fills the other side in equal portions to the panna cotta.
  16. Top with fresh lemon zest, serve immediately, and enjoy!  

                                       

Nutrition Facts: 
Calories- 293
Carbs- 34.6 g
Fat- 15.6 g
Protein- 5 g