Anyone who at least once tried the Italian Panacotta will not be able to resist the temptation the next time. In this dessert, the most delicate creamy taste blends perfectly with the light aroma of vanilla to give the sweet tooth a real pleasure. However, Panacotta can be enjoyed even on a diet, if done on milk. And this world-famous dessert can be prepared for vegetarians. Photos and recipes of panacotta with agar agar are presented in our article.
Dessert story
The homeland of the Panacota is the Italian northwestern region of Piedmont. It was here that the dessert was first invented and prepared, reminiscent of cream pudding in appearance and consistency. Its name comes from the Italian words panna kotta, which means “boiled cream”.
Today, gelatin or agar-agar is used in the preparation of desserts. But it was not always so. Initially, in order to achieve the desired consistency, fish bones were cooked in cream. In addition, a sugar-free dessert was being prepared, since it was too expensive for Italians. But today, vanilla, and spices, and berry sauce are added to the panacotta. It is he who so successfully sets off the taste of delicate pudding.
Some confectioners believe that the right panacotta can be prepared only on the basis of gelatin. In part, this statement is true, because it was this ingredient that was used in the original recipe. But today Panakota is also prepared on agar-agar as well. And it turns out to be even more tender and tasty than on gelatin.
Classic Aged Agar Panacotta Recipe: Ingredients
To prepare a traditional Italian dessert, you will need the following products on the list:
- cream with a fat content of 33% - 300 ml;
- milk - 150 ml;
- sugar - 80 g;
- vanilla - 1 g;
- agar-agar -1 tsp
Thus, a classic panacotta is prepared from cream, agar-agar and milk with the addition of sugar and vanilla. In addition, you need to prepare a stewpan, which is suitable for heating the ingredients, as well as a bowl or glasses for decorating the dessert.
Step-by-step cooking: how to work with agar-agar
Not everyone is familiar with the properties of this gelling component. But agar-agar is a vegetable substitute for gelatin, which has animal origin. You need to work with him differently. Unlike gelatin, agar-agar dissolves at temperatures above 90 ° C, and solidifies at 40 degrees. In addition, it needs very little, otherwise the dessert will turn into a solid mass.
The following step-by-step instruction will tell how panakota with agar-agar is prepared:
- Pour cream and milk into the stewpan. Add vanilla, sugar and agar. Mix the ingredients together.
- Put the stewpan on the fire and bring its contents to a boil.
- Since agar-agar from different manufacturers has different gelling properties, before cooling the dessert, you need to check the correct proportion of the gelling agent. To do this, scoop up a little creamy mixture with a teaspoon and send it to the freezer for 40 seconds. If the mass is tender and soft, then you can proceed to the next stage of preparation. If the creamy mixture has become solid, you need to add a little more liquid and, conversely, introduce more agar-agar. The main advantage of this gelling agent is that it can be heated countless times.
Dessert decoration and cooling
Panakota agar agar freezes even at room temperature. Therefore, if you leave the boiled creamy mass in a saucepan, then as it cools, it will turn from a liquid state to a solid one. That is why, as soon as the agar-agar is dissolved in boiling cream and milk, the stewpan should be removed from the heat.
Hot creamy mass can be poured into bowls, glasses, and silicone molds. In the latter case, the panacotta will be very easy to remove from the mold and put on a plate. If you prepare dessert in a glass, it should be served in it.
The poured panacotta should be slightly cooled at room temperature, and then sent to the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Very soon it will be possible to feast on the most delicious and delicious dessert.
How and when to serve panakota?
Dessert is traditionally served in small portions. When serving, panakota is watered with berry, chocolate or caramel sauce and garnished with fruit slices. At home, ordinary jam from summer berries is also suitable.
According to the recipe, panakota on agar-agar, as well as on gelatin, is poured into glass goblets or molds from which the dessert will subsequently be easily removed, for example, from silicone. Instead of sauce and jam, grated chocolate or cocoa can be used for serving and decoration.
Panacotta Berry Sauce
Delicate Italian dessert has a berry pudding texture. Panakota's taste is pleasant, creamy, moderately sweet. But I just want to dilute it with fresh berry notes. For this, according to the recipe, panakota with agar-agar is poured on top with a sauce specially prepared for this. You can weld it in just 5 minutes:
- Pour 1 cup of fresh berries into the stewpan. Any will do, but it’s best to use raspberries or strawberries.
- Pour 3 tbsp on top of the berries. l sugar and add 2 tsp. lemon juice. Stir the ingredients.
- Put the stewpan on the stove and over low heat bring the berries with sugar and juice to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add another glass of berries to the hot mass. At the same time, remove the stewpan from the heat.
- Cool the sauce to room temperature. When serving, pour chilled panacotta over it.
Delicate sour cream panacotta
When preparing a dessert according to the following recipe, in addition to cream and milk, one secret ingredient is used. This is sour cream. It is with her that the best panakota on agar agar is obtained (pictured).
The dessert recipe step by step looks like this:
- Pour 1 cup of milk into a small saucepan. Add to it 1 tsp. agar-agar, mix and leave for 5 minutes at room temperature.
- Put the pan on a slow fire and, stirring occasionally, bring its contents to a boil. Boil milk with agar-agar for 2 minutes.
- Add to the pan with milk mixture 2 tbsp. fat cream, ½ tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.
- Bring the mixture to a boil again. After 5 minutes, remove the pan from the heat. Allow the cream to cool slightly.
- Beat sour cream with a fat content of 20% (1 tbsp.) With a mixer for 5 minutes. Gradually pour in a warm creamy mass. Continue whisking for a couple of minutes to make the mixture homogeneous and without lumps. Pour into glasses immediately.
- From the amount of ingredients indicated in the recipe, 6 servings of gourmet panacotta should be obtained.
- Store the dessert in the refrigerator until completely frozen. This may take from 4 to 6 hours.
Coconut Panacotta with Agar Agar
This is one of the most popular vegan desserts. For him, agar-agar is needed, which, in contrast to gelatin, is of plant origin. Instead of milk and cream, coconut milk is used, which is very popular among true vegans. Cooking such a panacotta is no more difficult than traditional.
The dessert recipe consists of the following steps:
- Agar-agar (2 g or 1 tsp) pour 50 ml of water, mix and leave on the table for 15 minutes.
- Put the stewpan with water and a gelling agent on the fire, let it boil. Stir constantly, cook agar-agar for 1 minute.
- Pour coconut milk (400 ml) into a small saucepan. Install it in a water bath. This is to ensure that coconut milk does not burn. Stirring is optional.
- Heat coconut milk to 50 ° C. Add sugar (80 g) and vanillin (3 g) to it. Introduce agar agar dissolved in hot water. Stir and cook in a water bath for 5 minutes.
- Coconut panakota on agar is almost ready. It remains only to pour the mixture prepared in a water bath into molds or low glasses.
- Put the dessert in a cold place for 2-3 hours.
- Coconut Panacotta is recommended to be served with fresh berries.
Low-calorie panacotta without gelatin and cream
This four-layer dessert will appeal to everyone who is struggling with extra pounds. In the preparation of such a panacotta, neither gelatin nor heavy cream is used. Thanks to this, the calorie content of the dessert is less than that provided by the classic recipe.
Panakota with agar agar is prepared as follows:
- Pour 1 liter of milk into a medium-sized pot and stir 3 hours in it. gelling component. In this case, it will be agar-agar.
- Put a pot of milk on the stove, bring to a boil. Add sugar to taste and cocoa into the milk mixture (2 tbsp. L.). Without stopping stirring, cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour half the resulting chocolate sauce into pre-prepared glasses. This will be the first layer of panacotta.
- Send glasses to the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Leave unused chocolate mass in a pan. It will also be needed to form the third layer. To do this, it will be enough only to warm up.
- In a Turk or coffee maker, brew a classic espresso. To make a dessert, you need 40 ml of coffee.
- In a separate pan, dilute agar-agar in milk, but only use pre-brewed coffee instead of cocoa.
- Pour half the coffee mass into the glasses and cool.
- After heating the remaining chocolate mass, make a third layer of panacotta. Then cool the dessert.
- Repeat the last layer of panacota in the same way.
- Garnish the finished dessert with whipped cream and grated chocolate.
Secrets of cooking and recommendations
There are some nuances in panacotta recipes with agar agar:
- The traditional panacotta is white with vanilla flavor. But if you use fruit or berry syrup, cocoa or coffee when cooking, then the dessert will sparkle with completely new colors.
- To dissolve agar-agar in a liquid, it must be constantly stirred. Otherwise, it may burn to the bottom of the pan.
- In the preparation of panakota on agar, the acidity of the liquid also matters. If juice is added to milk, then a gelling agent will be needed more than in a traditional recipe.