Greens & Sprouts Gluten Free Melt
A creamy rich Italian dessert with chocolate without dairy & eggs? Here is the most amazing Double Chocolate Panna Cotta of your dreams!
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, scheming up the perfect dessert when you’ve got sensitivities to dairy and eggs (on top of gluten) to celebrate doesn’t have to be intimidating or bust your diet!
This chocolate panna cotta is the perfect answer for whatever your special day has in store. Whether it’s a fancy dinner out or a low key cozy night in, you really can’t go wrong with this impressive and seemingly indulgent treat, especially since it’s a cinch to put together!
Double Chocolate Panna Cotta (Dairy free & Egg free)
“Panna Cotta” literally means “cooked cream”, and even though this recipe is completely dairy and egg free, it can still be considered a cooked, creamy dessert. Coconut milk easily replaces the dairy component (or other non-dairy milk, such as almond milk). Using a Stevia sweetened version of chocolate coconut milk, like So Delicious no sugar added chocolate coconut milk, really adds a depth of real chocolate without added sugar in traditional creams or non-dairy chocolate milk.
To get around the need for eggs is to use gelatin in it’s place. Make sure that yours is unflavored, gluten free and, whenever possible, comes from grass-fed, pastured cattle. Jennifer has used Vital Protein’s Gelatin in the past.
You might not know this, but if you really want the chocolate flavor to pop, add instant coffee grounds to bring out a deeper, richer chocolate flavor. That being said, not all instant coffee is created equal in the eyes of the gluten-free. Some instant coffees and other flavored coffees are unfortunately not gluten-free. One brand that is gluten-free however is Nescafé® Taster’s Choice. For more information, check out this great article about coffee and gluten from Gluten-free Gigi.
Add organic cocoa powder as a decorative dusting and fresh raspberries (to fulfill the traditional fruit component, plus raspberries marry perfect with chocolate!) to make this chocolate panna cotta stand out on the plate! No one will even know that there’s no gluten, dairy or eggs! Bon appétit!
There are several other ways to make dairy-free chocolate panna cotta that are also gluten free. For those of you who love a more involved process of cooking and baking, check out this recipe we were inspired by from The Wholesome Cook which uses grass-fed eggs and blood oranges!
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| Double Chocolate Panna Cotta (Dairy free) |
| Dairy free double chocolate panna cotta is an impressive looking dessert, but only seems indulgent. With no heavy cream, no eggs, and no added sugar, it's the panna cotta dreams are made of! |
Double Chocolate Panna Cotta (Dairy free)
| Dairy free double chocolate panna cotta is an impressive looking dessert, but only seems indulgent. With no heavy cream, no eggs, and no added sugar, it's the panna cotta dreams are made of! |
| Servings | Prep Time | Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 4individual panna cottas | 5minutes | 7 to 10minutes | 2+hours |
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4individual panna cottas | 5minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 7 to 10minutes | 2+hours |
Ingredients
- 2 cups chocolate coconut milk (no sugar added - Stevia) or substitute almond milk* *(If using unsweetened non-dairy milk, add cocoa powder and stevia to taste for chocolate and sugar-free sweetener)
- 1 packet powdered gelatin *1 packet of gelatin is equal to 2 1/2 tsp
- 1/2 tsp instant coffee or espresso grounds
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp gluten-free vanilla extract
- 3 to 4 tbsp Cold water
- 1 tbsp organic cocoa powder (for dusting on top before serving)
Servings: individual panna cottas
Units:
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Ingredients
Servings: individual panna cottas
Units:
|
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine chocolate coconut milk, vanilla extract, salt, instant coffee grounds or espresso grounds, and heat over medium heat.
- While the mixture is heating up, combine powdered gelatin and 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water in a small ramekin or mixing dish. Let it sit for several minutes until the powder swells into more of a dissolved texture.
- When the milk mixture begins to lightly steam but not boil, add the gelatin mixture and whisk until well combined. Remove from the heat.
- Pour mixture evenly into 4 small cups or ramekins. Carefully place these into a larger baking dish or high rimmed pie pan and add cold water to the dish to create a cold water bath (helps panna cottas chill and set more evenly). Place the dish into the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours or until firm to the touch.
- To serve, either serve in original cup or ramekin dusted with cocoa powder and topped with fresh raspberries, or carefully invert cup or ramekin to slowly slide the panna cotta onto a flat plate. To ensure that it stays in one piece and doesn't stick, run a small knife along the very edges of the panna cotta before inverting the cup or ramekin.
What would the measurement be for “a packet” of gelatin. The one I have is not in packet form.
Thanks!
Hi Joey, thank you for asking! We’ve updated the information in the recipe so that you can make it from loose gelatin!
Jennifer
Although only 1/8 tsp of espresso or coffee per serving, I am so not a coffee/espresso person nor are other people in my life that I would make this for. Is there anything that can be substituted for the coffee/espresso or can it be left out altogether?
Thanking you in advance for your response,
Yvette
Hi Yvette, you may absolutely omit the coffee/espresso from the recipe! No harm done, it will be just fine without it.
Thank you for responding! 🙂
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/coffee-and-gluten-sensitivity-never-the-twain-shall-meet/
The above link will take you to an article that discusses the problem of cross-reactivity in instant coffee and gluten. The author is Dr. Aristo Vojdani, associated with Cyrex Labs. It is my understanding that somehow during the processing, the coffee is changed and the result is that it is viewed by our body as gluten. Strange, …. but that is the reason I gave up drinking Taster’s Choice Decaffinated coffee … after years of enjoying it.
I was all set to make your recipe for the pudding until I read about the coffee.
Hi this looks great, I appreciate your naming safe and unsafe brands of ingredients. Saves a lot of research, sometimes I don’t even bother with a recipe because I don’t feel like researching GF ingredients. What would a vegan use for thickening, would the Ener-G egg replacer work? Thanks!
Vik, I’m not honestly sure. A friend of mine has had great luck with kudzu root which you can see: http://amzn.to/1DfrqGm. However you could try the ener-G and see if it works. I wish I had a better answer, but if you try it and find it does do the trick, please leave another comment letting us know!
This looks lovely so thank you but I don’t see any mention of calories. We have put on so much weight since going gluten free but have found that strict calorie counting has meant we are losing weight successfully and much, much fitter.
This would be so very helpful for all your recipes.
x
Hi Angela,
Thanks for the feedback. I personally am not a fan of calorie counting, however I know others are. At some point (with a new site coming soon), we may be able to do that. Our current site is rather clunky and it’s been a challenge to add data like that to the recipes. Stay tuned!
Hi, Love the new look but confused about the panna cotta recipe….it lists sweet potato 4 times, water and vanilla?
And thats it?
Help? I would love to try it. The truffle recipe is confusing, too.
Thanks, Jennifer
Hi Jennifer, we have fixed these teething issues, all should be fine now, thanks for alerting us. To your good health!
If I’m using unsweetened almond milk, how much cocoa powder and stevia to it?
Hi Tanya, I honestly don’t know. You’d have to probably mix it to taste and once you get it where you want it, then use it in the recipe.