This Blackberry Lemon Panna Cotta might make you forget that you are eating AIP/Paleo. It’s super easy to make, and so elegant!
Isn’t she lovely? I think this dessert is so elegant. The wonderful thing is that it is EASY to make! The hardest part about it is making the sauce, and that’s not even very hard. But what is it?
Panna cotta, by definition, is a cold Italian custard dessert, typically made with sweetened cream and gelatin, then molded. Well, we can do that in an AIP/Paleo way!
A few notes on ingredients…
For this recipe, I used Savoy coconut cream. There is such a variety of thicknesses out there where coconut milk and cream is concerned. I do not recommend Trader Joe’s brand for desserts that require thickness. I mean, I love me some Trader Joe’s, but their brand is not going to work here.
And about the lemon oil… I know I will get this question: Can I use lemon juice instead of lemon oil? Here’s the thing: food grade lemon oil (I use this brand) is a super concentrated and oily form of lemon flavor. I haven’t tried lemon juice because I purposely wanted that intense, smooth flavor. If you try it with lemon juice, you are going to need more than the 1/4 teaspoon of lemon oil in the recipe! How much more? As I said, I don’t know. Maybe one tablespoon? It may change the taste, consistency and/or sweetness to sub out that ingredient. But you can experiment if you like.
For the panna cotta in this photo, I used frozen blackberries for the sauce, then garnished with fresh blackberries – just because I think they are so pretty! You might also garnish with a curled piece of lemon peel, or shavings of lemon zest.
Serve this to someone you love who must be dairy free. Or to someone who needs a smile. Or make it for yourself and savor every bite.
As always, I am wishing you so much love and healing.
๐,
Wendi
Blackberry Lemon Panna Cotta
Course: DessertCuisine: AIP, PaleoDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes15
minutes12
hoursThis Blackberry Lemon Panna Cotta might make you forget that you are eating AIP/Paleo. It’s super easy to make, and so elegant!
Ingredients
For the panna cotta:
14 can 14 can Savoy coconut cream
2 TBSP 2 honey
1 tsp 1 alcohol-free vanilla
1/4 tsp 1/4 food grade lemon oil
1 TBSP 1 gelatin
For the sauce:
1 cup 1 (heaping) frozen or fresh blackberries
2 + 1 TBSP water
1/8 tsp 1/8 food grade lemon oil
2 TBSP 2 honey
1/2 tsp 1/2 arrowroot starch/flour
Directions
- *Start this recipe the day before you plan to serve. In a cold saucepan, place coconut cream, honey, vanilla, and lemon oil. (Note: if coconut cream has separated in the can, give it a little whisk to combine.) Sprinkle gelatin over all. Let it all sit there for 5 minutes to allow the gelatin to “bloom.”
- Place saucepan over medium heat, and whisk gently until gelatin has melted, and all liquid is combined. Carefully pour into four 8-oz. ramekins. Refrigerate overnight. It is not necessary to cover them.
- On the day you want to serve, make the sauce. Place blackberries and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan over medium heat. As the berries warm, mash them with a whisk. Once you have a good juice going (about 5 minutes), remove from heat.
- Strain the blackberry mixture through a fine sieve. Work the berries with a whisk so that more of the juice comes out of them, and you are left with seeds in the sieve. You should have about a 1/2 cup of juice. Clean out the saucepan of any bits, and return the juice to the pan.
- With the saucepan over medium high heat, whisk in honey, 1 tablespoon water, and lemon oil until well combined. When liquid is bubbly, whisk in arrowroot starch. As soon as it has thickened, remove from heat. If there are any lumps, keep whisking until they have disappeared. Let cool completely at room temperature, but do not refrigerate.
- To serve, place ramekins in a shallow baking dish of very warm (but not hot!) water for about 30 seconds. Remove ramekins, and wipe off the water. Run a knife around the edge of the panna cotta. Place a dessert dish upside down on the ramekin. Carefully invert so the custard turns out onto the plate. (If it won’t come out, repeat this step.)
- Drizzle 2 tablespoons of blackberry sauce on each panna cotta. Garnish with fresh berries, lemon zest shavings, or curled lemon zest.
Notes
- If your sauce seems too gloopy to drizzle, place it in a saucepan over low heat, and whisk in 1 tablespoon of water at a time until you are happy with the consistency. Just make sure to let it cool again before drizzling on the panna cottas, or they will melt!
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Can’t wait to give this a try but I just ordered the lemon oil from Amazon and now I must wait two days for it to be delivered. Agony! LOL Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!!
I think you’ll be pleased with the lemon oil. SO intense and smooth. Their peppermint oil is to die for! Super powerful, though, so you only need a tiiiiiiny amount. BTW, there is another recipe coming soon which uses either one of those flavorings, so you’ll have another chance to use it/them! ๐
I just finally got around to making this. First I had to wait for the lemon oil, then I got distracted doing other things and just got back to it. OMG! My favorite dessert before AIP was pudding. It would be a toss up between chocolate pudding or tapioca pudding but definitely pudding for the win. I could wait to make the sauce. I ate the first one “plain” if you can call it plain. What a wonderful dessert! Not too sweet, just lemony enough and the texture was amazing! I put mine into custard molds and it made three. I ate one today but tomorrow I’ll make the blackberry sauce for the other two and share them with my husband. You are an incredible cook. Thank you so much for this.
Oh wonderful!!! Iโm so glad you like it! I know itโs a commitment to buy lemon oil online, so Iโm glad it paid off. Thank you for letting me know how it went! ๐
Can I skip the gelatin?
Hi, Sylvia! I would not. The gelatin is what makes it hold its shape. That being said, you could make kind of a pudding by leaving it out, and just serving it in bowls or ramekins. (I havenโt tried this.) But if you want the shape, you need the gelatin.
I have a beef allergy. What can be subbed for the gelatin?
Hi, Christine! Iโm sorry about your beef allergy. So the gelatin is the thing that holds it all together for the molded shape. I donโt know of anything that could be subbed. The only thing I can suggest (and I havenโt tried it) is to leave the gelatin out, but serve in ramekins like a pudding. Maybe that would work…?
Hi, agar agar works very well for Pana cotta.
Wonderful! Thanks for letting us know! (For AIPers, use caution with agar agar and other high-mucilage foods.)
Hello Christine and Wendi! Sorry to intrude. I think you could replace beef gelatin with pork gelatin (if you can eat pork) or with agar-agar (which comes from an algae).
This Panna Cotta looks absolutely delicious! Canโt wait to try it, unfortunately I canโt have all the ingredients right now, with this lockdown situation.
Hi, Bea! I hope this lockdown will be over soon, and you can have some panna cotta! ๐ One caution about agar agar. Since itโs one of those mucilaginous things, it may be best avoided for people with autoimmune disease. See this article here๐๐ผ: https://www.thepaleomom.com/mucilaginous-fiber-the-good-the-bad-and-the-gooey/ Some folks might do just fine with it. Just want to add a note of caution.
I hope you get to have some panna cotta soooooon! Thanks for writing! ๐
Thank you for the reply. I would imagine having it like a pudding wouldn’t be so bad. I’ll give it a try and instead of making the topping, I’ll just slice some fresh fruit on top. Thanks again!
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This looks amazing. I’m waiting for the lemon oil but want to get clarification on just how much coconut cream we’re supposed to use? It says “14 can cans” right now, but is that right? We need to use 14 cans? That seems like a lot?
ACK! It’s supposed to be a 14-oz.can. There is sometimes a glitch in my recipe card function that does that. I will edit immediately! Thank you for letting me know! ๐
So I really don’t want to buy lemon oil for one recipe. Can I replace lemon juice?
Hi, Lisa! I get it. It seems like a specialty ingredient, which maybe it is. The lemon oil is concentrated (it’s pure), so to get the same level of lemon taste, it might take more lemon juice, which would add more liquid than we need for this recipe. The lemon oil has a more “buttery” flavor, too – like the difference between lemon juice in a recipe, and lemon zest – and less of it is needed to get a good lemon flavor. It’s different. The lemon oil I’ve linked here can also be used in the frosting of my carrot cake, and you can even use it in a diffuser! You might try it just out of curiosity, or to broaden a repertoire that is somewhat limited ( the AIP diet). If you DO decide to try it with lemon juice, please let me know how it works!
I love your lemon panna cotta! And I use the lemon oil in everything. I made lemon flavored yogurt, I add it to sugar cookies, I add it to frostings. Good stuff.
Thanks for writing, Cheryl! Yes, that stuff is amazing, and truly different from lemon juice. I’m so glad you like it! ๐