Friday Dessert: soy panna cotta

A couple years ago, I needed a light dessert for a small dinner I was hosting. The dishes were almost all Italian and a little on the heavy side, so I wanted a light, Italian dessert. I started browsing and found the Vegan Bicyclinguist's Panna Cotta. In a recent search for vegan panna cotta, I've noticed that vegan adaptations abound, but at the time, his was the only one I could find. So, in my normal spirit of ignoring the rule that you shouldn't make a recipe you've never made before for a dinner party, I decided to give it a try!

Sorry about the dim photo--I sneakily took this shot just before bringing them out to the table.

It was delicious, though I had my doubts in the making. The batter itself wasn't delicious. You combine soy yogurt, soy creamer, water, and agar. and before it set, the mixture had a tang I did not like. Figuring I had nothing to lose and just wouldn't serve dessert if it failed, I put the panna cotta into little bowls to set, just in case. After they set and chilled for a while, they were awesome! I used vanilla yogurt so that they had a slight vanilla flavor, and I topped them with canned peaches, some of the syrup from the peaches, and a couple pinches of cinnamon. I've never had non-vegan panna cotta, but from what I've read about what it should be, the texture was spot-on.

There may be other, newer vegan panna cotta recipes out there (point me to them if you have any favorites! I'm interested in trying other approaches too!), but this one will always have a special place in my heart for being the first one out there.