I cannot believe it’s already the 4th of July this week! I decided to make a red, white, and blue dessert in celebration of this holiday! This is quite possibly one the easiest desserts I’ve ever made and pretty much fail proof. It’s pretty quick too minus the setting time!
I have the biggest sweet tooth and lately I’ve taken an interest in making desserts, so here we are! The strawberry (red) gives it a fresh bite while the cream (white) gives it that rich and velvety flavor. And then topped with blueberries for the *obvious* blue part!
This panna cotta is actually vegetarian. Traditional panna cotta calls for gelatin while this one uses agar agar. I got mine from Amazon. The key is to let the temperature get to 194°F to activate the agar agar and then continue to simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes once it reaches that temperature. This almost felt like a science experiment!
Panna Cotta
Ingredients:
Fruit layer:
2 cups strawberry purée
1/4 cup sugar
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 tsp agar agar
Cream layer:
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 tsp agar agar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Topping:
Blueberries
Directions:
Fruit:
1. Take one pack of strawberries and hull them. Toss them in a blender and purée until smooth.
2. Pour purée into a medium size pot and cook over medium heat. Add sugar and bring to a low boil. Squeeze in lemon juice then whisk in agar agar and heat until 194°F. This is to ensure the agar has melted so it will activate. Continue simmering on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
3. Pour and divide evenly into four wine glasses or panna cotta molds if using. Place in the refrigerator and let it set for 1-2 hours. Once it has set move on to the cream part.
Cream:
1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add milk, half and half, sugar and vanilla extract. Bring to a simmer and whisk in agar agar. Do not boil. Simmer for 5 minutes then remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
2. Remove glasses/molds from fridge (jiggle glass around to ensure strawberry purée has set) then pour and divide cream mixture.
Place back in the fridge for about 30 minutes and then top with blueberries.
3. After topping with blueberries, leave in fridge for at least 6 hours to overnight to set.
4. Once it has set, it’s ready to eat! Enjoy!
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