A dessert to show your love this Valentine's Day!Now, be careful when it comes to gelatine - this stuff's behaviour entirely depends on it being shown devoted love and care! This recipe uses powdered gelatine which needs to be bloomed - basically introduced to liquid which will then set - before adding to the warm panna cotta mixture. Here, the liquid is water and it MUST be cold otherwise the gelatine grains can swell and the resulting panna cotta will be grainy.Once the bloomed gelatine is added to the coconut cream mixture, DO NOT let the liquid boil. This can result the gelatine losing its essential setting properties. Or the panna cottas can come out in two layers - one gelatinous, the other creamy. With all of that said, the final panna cotta is totally worth the gelatine drama!If you're vegetarian or vegan: You can replace the gelatine with agar agar powder, a vegan setting agent made from algae. However, agar agar sets much more firmly than gelatine, so you will need less. A good rule of thumb is a ¼ tsp of agar agar for every 1 tsp of gelatine powder. Start the recipe from Step 3 - unlike with gelatine, allow the coconut mixture to boil, then add the vanilla and agar agar (exact quantity depending on the strength you use) then bring it to a rolling boil for 2 minutes while whisking to prevent clumping. This will cook the agar agar. Then pour into the ramekins and leave to set.
