Coconut Lime Panna Cotta with Roasted Berries
Silky and light, this luscious but easy-to-make vegan panna cotta is flavored with coconut and lime, and is garnished with roasted berries. It’s a simple but elegant dessert that’s perfect for spring and summer entertaining. It’s important to use a mix of both whole fat and low fat (or light) coconut milk to get the best texture (the whole fat provides richness while the low fat creates a soft texture). Agar powder is a flavorless gelling agent made from algae. You can buy it at specialty stores or online HERE.
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
Panna Cotta
- Neutral vegetable oil or cooking spray for ramekins
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can whole fat coconut milk
- 1 (13.5 ounce) can light (low-fat) coconut milk
- ⅓ cup natural cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon lime zest (about 1 lime)
- ¾ teaspoon agar powder
- Pinch salt
For serving
- Roasted Berries (see below)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk (both cans), sugar, lime zest, agar powder and salt. Place the saucepan over medium heat, and continue whisking until the mixture is completely smooth. Bring the coconut milk to a simmer, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula. Continue simmering until the milk thickens slightly and lightly coats the spatula (it will still look thin, but it should leave a line when you swipe the spatula with your finger—check out the video above for reference), about 4-5 minutes longer.
- Pour the liquid into a large measuring cup or a bowl with a spout (this will make it easier to pour it into the ramekins). Divide the panna cotta mixture between the prepared ramekins. Chill, uncovered, until set, about 1 hour. Do Ahead: The panna cotta can be made up to 2 days in advance. Once the panna cotta has set, cover the ramekins with plastic wrap.
- To serve, run a sharp knife around the edge of a ramekin; invert the ramekin onto a plate; and shake firmly up and down until the panna cotta slides out (you can also serve the panna cotta in the ramekins with the fruit spooned on top). Spoon the roasted berries and their juice over the panna cotta, and serve!
Notes
Tips:
- If you don't have 8-ounce ramekins, you can use small cups or bowls.
- Be sure to spray your ramekins with cooking spray or brush them lightly with vegetable oil (avoid using coconut oil, which will harden in the fridge). This will make it easier to unmold the panna cotta onto plates (check out the video above to see how it’s done). That being said, you can absolutely serve the panna cotta right in the ramekins with spoons for scooping!
- Instead of flavoring the panna cotta with lime zest, feel free to scrape in the seeds of ½ vanilla bean.
- For the smoothest texture, you can strain the coconut milk mixture before pouring it into ramekins. I don’t mind the specks of lime zest so skip this step.