Posts Tagged ‘gelatin’
Do you have empty PET bottles at home? Don’t discard them! Instead, use their bottom parts as a mold for pretty gelatin or agar agar based desserts: the shape looks like a flower!
Since spring is blossoming at the moment, I suggest trying this easy recipe for delicious d strawberry panna cotta. Panna cotta is a popular Northern Italian sweet that literally translates to “cooked cream”. mycentraljersey.com It’s served chilled and is therefore a perfect dessert for warmer seasons. The classic flavouring is cream and vanilla, but in this rendition I opted for coconut milk and strawberry instead.
Recipe for Strawberry Coconut Panna Cotta in a PET Bottle Mold (serves 6)
- 6 empty 500ml PET bottles with a flower shaped bottom, for example Schweppes
- 250ml coconut milk (Not to be confused with coconut water! Can be substituted with cream and vanilla essence to get a more classic panna cotta.)
- 4 Tbs sugar
- 9g sheet gelatin = 5 sheets
- 1 cup finely pureed strawberries, sieved
- optional: milk
- First, prepare the molds. Cut away the bottom part of the bottles and wash them thoroughly.
- Heat coconut milk and sugar in a pan and stir.
- Meanwhile, soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl with cold water for 3-5 minutes.
- When the sugar has dissolved, turn off the stove and add the drained gelatin. Stir until it melts down.
- Add the mixture to the pureed strawberries and whisk together until it’s well incorporated.
- Pour the liquid into the prepared PET bottle molds. Cover the molds and let the panna cotta set in the refrigerator overnight.
- To unmold, loosen the edges with a knife and then dip the mold in a bowl with warm water for a few seconds. Be careful not to dip in for too long, the panna cotta melts easily.
- Turn the mold over and place it on the serving plate. Shake gently until the panna cotta releases.
- Panna cotta is commonly served with fruit coulis, but since this version is already quite sweet in itself I decided to add plain cold milk. It complements the flavour and acts as a nice colour contrast.
Buon appetito!