This delicious treat is not just for special occasions! It might look tricky but is actually super duper simple!! A great dessert to make in advance when entertaining guests.
You will need:
2 tins coconut cream
1 cup The Wholefood Pantry Coconut Chips, plus extra for topping
8 tbsp The Wholefood Pantry Maple Syrup
1 tsp of vanilla powder or paste or the seeds of vanilla bean scraped
2 1/2 teaspoons of Natural Gelatin (or use a tbsp of agar agar for a vegan alternative)
1 pinch cinnamon powder
1/2 cup Buckwheat kernels
1 pinch The Wholefood Pantry Himalayan Salt
5-6 fresh strawberries
Then:
Toast all of the coconut chips in a pan on a moderate heat until lightly browned and fragrant.
Place coconut cream and 1 cup of the toasted coconut chips in a saucepan and heat gently (don’t bring to boil).
Add in the vanilla, cinnamon powder and 4 tbsp of the maple syrup.
Bloom the gelatin by adding 5 tsp of water to the gelatin, stir and let absorb for a couple of minutes. Once it has expanded and become soft, add to the hot coconut cream mixture and whisk to combine.
Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes to allow the cream to take on the toasted coconut flavour, then strain to remove the chips.
Pour into 4 x 200ml ramekins, moulds or cute glasses. Let set in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight.
To make the candied buckwheat, toast the kernels lightly in a pan then add the remaining 4 tbsp of maple syrup and pinch of salt. Stir around to cover the kernels while the maple bubbles, ensuring it doesn’t burn, but does reach a high temperature.
Pour out the mix onto baking paper and let cool and harden.
Once hard, crack mix into chunks and store in an airtight container until required.
When you’re ready to serve the panna cotta, if turning out onto a plate, remove from the ramekin by carefully scoring around the edge of the mould with a sharp knife, then tip on an angle, and gently ‘pull’ the panna cotta with your knife at the edge of the panna cotta, pulling down. It will loosen and slide out.
You will notice the fat of the coconut cream has separated from the liquid. This makes a beautiful layered effect. The texture of the liquid layer is more jelly, the texture of the fat layer is more creamy!
Decorate your panna cottas with the strawberries cut into quarters, toasted coconut chips and the candied buckwheat.
So easy, so yum!