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Coconut Panna Cotta with Mango Gelee and Fresh Fruit



Panna cotta, or cooked cream, is an immensely easy dessert to make yet has a gorgeous presentation; it’s the perfect dessert for a dinner party. Make it ahead of time, then whisk it out to wow your guests. Best of all, while this dessert is sweet and creamy, it is also light and refreshing. Serve it after a particularly rich, impressive multi-course meal and it will go down a treat.

For this version, I decided to veer into a tropical flavor. Instead of the usual vanilla, I choose to use coconut milk. The traditional fresh fruit pairing for coconut is mango for me, so it became the colorful fruit gelee layered on top. For extra color, sweetness and tang, I used fresh strawberries and kiwis as garnish.

 If you’ll excuse me, my party was only for 5 last night and I have a 6th panna cotta calling my name….


Ingredients:
Panna Cotta:
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin

Mango Gelee
1/2 cup pureed mangoes
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 envelope of unflavored gelatin

Chopped kiwi and strawberry, for garnish

Method:
Place the coconut milk, heavy cream and sugar into a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a gentle simmer. Meanwhile, place the water into a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin, allowing it to bloom for 5 minutes.

Add the gelatin to the cooked milk mixture and stir until well combined. Add the extracts. Pour the mixture evenly into 6 dishes and refrigerator for a minimum of four hours before proceeding with the recipe.

Put the pureed mangoes and sugar into a saucepan over medium heat and heat while stirring until the mixture boils. Meanwhile, pour the water into a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin, allowing it to bloom for 5 minutes.

Add the gelatin to the cooked mango and mix well until completely combined. Poor the mango glee over the set coconut panna cotta. Refrigerate another 2 hours at least before serving.


Top with the chopped fresh fruit and enjoy!


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