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Not only is this vegan panna cotta smooth and creamy, but it’s also silky. It’s a velvety smooth-cooked cream that dissolves in your mouth and feels like eating in heaven. This vegan version of an Italian treat takes little time to prepare but yields a magnificent result.
This delectable and festive treat appears to be complicated, but it’s actually fairly straightforward. This quick and delicious vegan panna cotta recipe is the greatest you’ve ever had!
What is Penna Cotta?
Panna Cotta is a popular Italian dish, should I say magnum opus epitome of simple and lovely. In Italian, Panna Cotta literally means “cooked cream.”In the traditional version of this recipe, Whole milk, heavy cream, and gelatine are the essential ingredients, but no worries, this vegan version is just as good.
The texture of panna cotta is almost everything: the smooth, silky cream is stiff enough to hang tight to a spoon but melts on your tongue. The best panna cotta has a subtle flavor, showcasing the creamy and natural sweetness and the tenderness of a fresh vanilla bean.
Panna cotta must not be heavy or syrupy. Tart, fresh toppings go nicely with the creamy dish, as do stronger, sweeter varieties.
Because it’s such a rich dessert, it’s frequently accompanied by a light fruit sauce or coulis. Panna Cotta has always been a favorite of mine, and that hasn’t changed now that I make it dairy-free.
Ingredients you’ll need for Vegan Panna Cotta
You might assume that making it vegan is difficult because you have to replace all of the primary ingredients with something different because neither heavy cream, milk nor gelatine are vegan. But here’s what you really need and why you need it:
Full-fat Coconut milk – There really is no other option for a heavy, creamy mouthfeel that is as “fatty” as coconut milk. I avoid using store-bought vegan heavy creams since they include far too many chemicals. Coconut milk that is full-fat contains at least 100 percent coconut.
Unsweetened Almond Milk – We prefer almond or cashew milk (unsweetened) because none of the other dairy-free milk gives me the best results. Other nut milks have an overpowering nut flavor. Soy milk and Oat Milk have a distinct flavors. The combination of mild coconut milk and full-fat coconut cream will result in an extremely coconutty panna cotta, which is difficult to compensate for, even with a vanilla taste.
Cornstarch – Yes, cornstarch. Agar-agar flakes aren’t required. It has too much binding strength for this smooth, exquisite dessert. You would not want to wind up with Panna Cotta instead of a hard and stiff cream.
White Sugar – I’m sure you’ve heard of white sugar, and some of you might not be happy with this. I generally use maple syrup or coconut sugar, both better options, but you can’t use brown sugar in a white panna cotta. It’s more about appearances than anything else when using caster sugar or white sugar.
Vanilla – Either vanilla extract, paste, or the seeds from a vanilla pod are required. Except if you want an authentic coconut panna cotta. You can bypass it in that case.
Best panna cotta flavor variations
There are numerous flavors and varieties of panna cotta recipes. For this recipe, we used raspberries, but here are some other options for you to try!
Raspberries: or berries of your choice: I’m not trying to be snobby, but I think raspberries (or any berry for that reason) go wonderfully with Panna Cotta. Strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries are also good options. Whatever you want to do, make sure you follow the instructions in this recipe.
Chocolate: Melt a half cup of chocolate (dark) and whisk into the coconut mix after cooking for a standard chocolate version of this dessert.
Mango: To make a delicious mango panna cotta dessert, combine one cup of mango (fresh or frozen) with the lemon and sugar and simmer as instructed. Water was not included here. To achieve a smoother texture, blend the ingredients and make a puree before cooking.
Lemon: Lemon is a zesty and excellent choice! Remove the coconut mixture from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and the shredded zest from Two lemons. The vanilla bean should be left out.
Strawberries: Last but not least, while you can include strawberries in the panna cotta by following the instructions, you can also include strawberries directly into the panna cotta. Half a cup of coconut milk should be left out of the latter. Whisk in Half a cup of pureed strawberries when the coconut mixture has finished cooking.
How to make a quick berry sauce for Panna Cotta
Even if you use fresh or frozen fruit, it’s a snap to make. The sauce is delicious, with various berries, some sweet and others tart. You don’t need to add lemon juice because the flavors will complement each other without it. You can leave off the cinnamon, although it’s highly recommended. It gives this berry sauce a distinct flavor.
- Add 2 cups of mixed berries (raspberries, red currant, black currant, and blackberries) to a saucepan.
- Add half a cup of sugar and half a cup of water. Bring the water to a boil.
- When the berries are mushy, mix them into a sauce using an immersion blender. (The berries will soften even faster if they are frozen.)
- Lastly, to activate the starch, add the cinnamon and cornstarch and bring them to a boil.
- This will thicken into a smoothly flowing sauce, excellent for spreading over panna cotta.
- It took me about 10 min to complete this sauce for Panna Cotta.
Tips for making the Best Vegan Panna Cotta
How can I avoid lumps in Panna Cotta?
If you’re using any texturizer (such as starches or agar-agar powder), I suggest you dissolve them separately in a tiny amount of water at room temperature. You will produce lumps if you add thickening to a hot liquid. Nevertheless, because an egg-free panna cotta does not require cooking really, you can combine all of the ingredients in one bowl and heat it as it is
After it has thickened, add vanilla extract – To preserve the vanilla aroma, add it right before the end. It loses its aroma when the vanilla extract is added in the first stage and cooked for merely a few minutes. If your panna cotta tastes more coconutty, you added vanilla extract too soon.
What if Vegan Panna Cotta is not thick enough? – Cornstarch must be activated with a lot of heat. You could finish up with custard texture rather than panna cotta texture if you don’t heat it high enough or long enough. You will not be able to remove it from the silicone molds.
Cool it down before putting it in the fridge — chill the Penna Cotta down on the counter first, then place them in the fridge until they are no longer hot to touch. If you put them in the refrigerator when they’re hot, frost may form on the top.
Share the image below to your Pinterest board if you like this Italian Vegan Panna Cotta Recipe!
Vegan Panna Cotta Recipe
Ingredients
For Vegan Panna Cotta:
- 1-14-oz can of coconut cream, Full-fat
- 1 cup of Almond milk
- 4 TBSP of White sugar
- 5-6 TBSP of Corn starch
- 2 tsp of vanilla extract
For Mixed Berries Sauce:
- 2 cups of mixed berries, Frozen
- ½ cup of Water
- 4 TBSP of cane sugar
- ½ tsp of cinnamon
- 1 TBSP of Corn starch
Directions
- Your coconut milk should be shaken before use (stored at room temperature).
- Melt full-fat coconut milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. In a small bowl, combine the Almond milk (or other non-dairy milk) and cornstarch; as soon as the sugar has dissolved, pour it into the saucepan. It may become lumpy if you don’t pre-mix it.
- Cook till the cornstarch has been activated and the cream has thickened over medium heat. It should resemble a thick paste with a slow flow. It took about ten minutes for me to complete the part.
- Now, pour in the vanilla extract. Make a good stir. Divide the mixture into serving bowls.
- While the panna cotta is chilling, make the berry sauce (or your favorite topping).
- I let them cool on the counter first, then put them in the refrigerator once they are no longer hot to the touch.
Video Recipe
What is the best way to serve vegan panna cotta?
Serve them in cups or glasses with a berry sauce on top. I sometimes use silicone muffin cups since I can slide them out onto a dish and add the berry sauce here.
