How to make yoghurt and passionfruit pannacotta

I’m not really sure whether this is a terrine or a panna cotta, but the name really doesn’t make  a huge amount of difference for our purposes. Although according to wikipedia – so it must be true – a panna cotta is an Italian “dessert of sweetened cream thickened with gelatine and molded.” This both sweetened cream, gelatine, and is molded. Tick, tick and tick.

Anyways, thanks to the yoghurt it’s not as heavy as a pannacotta normally is, and thanks to the vanilla and lime rind, it’s also not as sweet.

Sadly there are no photos as these looked crap on the plate – white on white with just a little interest from the yellow of the passion fruit pulp on top…boring. But then, I’ve never pretended to be a food stylist. It’s how they taste that matters…

This recipe makes 6 small panna cottas. What you can do is double the recipe and pour it into a (cling film lined) larger container (like a loaf tin or a small ice cream container?) and scoop it out instead.

What you need…

  • 300ml cream. I get ours from the markets – it’s local, and it’s good.
  • ¼ cup sugar. If you have a real sweet tooth you can add more, but this amount is, I think, fine.
  • 2 – 3 strips of lime peel. Cut this with a vegetable peeler so you have no pith
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence – or a vanilla bean if you have any in the pantry
  • 2 sheets gelatine – I used titanium strength
  • 300ml greek style yoghurt
  • 1 – 2 tbsp passionfruit juice (no pulp)
  • Extra passionfruit pulp to serve

What you do with it…

  • Heat the cream, lime rind, vanilla and sugar in a small pan. Bring it just to a simmer, take out the lime rind, and remove it from heat.
  • Soften the gelatine sheets in cold water for a few minutes until they’re all squidgy. Squeeze out all the excess water and stir into the hot cream. Whisk in the yoghurt, passionfruit juice and lime juice until it’s smooth.
  • If you’re using individual molds, line these with cling film. I find this a real palaver in that it leaves little marks on the panna cotta from where the plastic is uneven. You can pour it straight into the cold and hope you can get it out in one piece without resorting to hot water and potentially melting it – I’ll leave that choice with you.
  • Serve with passionfruit pulp.