Recipe courtesy of Push Doctor and Kevin Rivers, head chef at vegetarian restaurant, 1847
Vegan Popcorn Panna Cotta
We’re sure you want to round off your Christmas dinner in style, and as you can see, this dessert is a real show-stopper.
Kevin’s delicious Popcorn Panna Cotta has four different elements to it, but don’t let that worry you. Each one is very quick and very easy. Not that your guests need to know that, of course!
For the panna cotta: Ingredients
300ml of your preferred double cream alternative
250ml rice milk
50g granulated sugar
1 tonka bean, finely grated
2.5g vegan agar gelatinCombine the cream, milk, sugar and tonka bean in a pan and bring to the boil.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the agar gelatin.
Simmer for a further minute.
Pour into glasses or bowls and leave in the fridge to set.
For the jelly: Ingredients
300ml orange juice
150ml water
70ml soy sauce
85g caster sugar
6g vegan agar gelatin
Combine the juice, water, soy sauce and agar gelatin in a pan and bring to the boil.
As soon as this happens, remove from the heat and pour into a flat, non-stick tray.
Leave to chill until set.
Blend on the lowest setting to break it down into a gel.
Pass through a sieve and store in a squeezy bottle.
For the garnish: Ingredients
250g sweet or salted popcorn
200ml of your preferred vegan double cream alternative
400ml coconut milk
50g caster sugar
Bring the coconut milk, cream and sugar to the boil.
Add most of the popcorn and heat until it softens. Keep a few pieces back for garnishing.
Blend the mixture in a food processor until smooth.
Pass it through a sieve.
Blend again with a stick blender and scoop off the foam to use as a garnish.
For the honeycomb: Ingredients
200g caster sugar
5 tbsp golden syrup
2tsp bicarbonate of soda
How to make
Grease a 20cm square baking tin with olive oil
Mix the sugar and syrup in a deep saucepan (to leave plenty of room for the honeycomb to expand) and stir over a gentle heat until the sugar has melted. Try not to let the mixture bubble until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Once the sugar has melted, turn the heat up to a simmer until the mixture turns the colour of caramel. This won’t take long, so don’t go anywhere!
Take the mixture off the heat as quickly as you can.
Add the bicarbonate of soda and beat in with a wooden spoon until it has all disappeared and the mixture is foaming.
Scrape the mixture into the tin straight away. Take care, as it will be extremely hot.
Leave it in the tin for about an hour and a half, then break into chunks for garnishing.