Kennard Cooks Kennard Cooks
Sign in

Caramel Panna Cotta

by Matt Kennard

Flan's shape and flan's caramel, set without eggs. It is not flan, and it is very good.

Matt4
Serves
8
Active
25 min
Total
5 to 7 hours with the chill
Pan
9-inch round or a 9x5 loaf
AgarGelatin

Softer and closest to flan. Never vegan, and it must not boil.

SimmeredGluten-freeEgg-freeDinnerEntertainingMake-aheadWhat gluten-free means
Jump to recipe

Four versions, two choices. Pick the milk, then pick the setter. The caramel, the dish and the method are identical in all four.

AgarGelatin
DairyFirm, clean slice, vegetarianSoftest and closest to flan
CoconutFirm, clean slice, fully veganSoft, rich, not vegan

On the dietary labels. This is gluten-free and egg-free in all four versions, and those are the two tags on it. It is vegan and dairy-free in exactly one: coconut milk set with agar. Agar is a seaweed; gelatin is not, and the dairy versions are not dairy-free. A label here is a single word with no room for a condition, so the tags claim only what is true of every version and the rest is said where it can be said properly — here.

A note on what this is. Flan is a custard, and custard is eggs setting. Take the eggs out and you are making a panna cotta: same dish, same caramel, same moment when you turn it out onto a plate, set by a gelling agent instead. What you lose is the eggy richness and the way a real custard coats a spoon. What you gain is a dessert that is vegan, sets firm enough to slice cleanly, and holds its shape on a warm table, which flan will not.

Choosing

Agar or gelatin. Agar sets firmer and cleaner: it slices, it holds its edges, and it stays set at room temperature, which makes it the better choice for a table on a hot day or a dessert that has to sit out. Gelatin sets softer and wobbles, which is much closer to what a flan does, and it melts in the mouth in a way agar does not. If you are trying to replace flan, use gelatin. If you are feeding a crowd outdoors, use agar. Agar is a seaweed, so it is vegetarian and vegan; gelatin is neither.

Dairy or coconut. Dairy is richer and more neutral, and it lets the caramel be the flavor. Coconut is slightly sweeter, unmistakably coconut, and a natural fit with lime zest or rum. If you are cooking for someone avoiding dairy, coconut is not a compromise here; it is arguably the better version.

Tips

  • The two-minute boil is not optional with agar, and boiling is a mistake with gelatin. Each setter has exactly one way to go wrong and it is the opposite of the other's.
  • The set is adjustable. Agar: 1 tsp is firm, ¾ tsp is softer, below that it will not turn out. Gelatin: 2 tsp holds its shape, 2½ tsp if your dish is wide and shallow.
  • Full fat matters in both. Light coconut milk or half-and-half sets thin and tastes of nothing. The fat is doing the job the egg yolks used to.
  • Make it a day ahead. The caramel keeps dissolving into sauce, and it is better on day two.
  • Both are egg-free, which makes this the dessert to reach for when someone at the table cannot have eggs.

Ingredients

8

A different pan

Written for 9-inch round or a 9x5 loaf — about 64 square inches.

Method

  1. Heat deep amber

    Make the caramel. Sugar, water and salt in a light-colored pan over medium heat. Do not stir once it dissolves; swirl the pan instead. Cook to a deep amber, 8 to 12 minutes. It goes from amber to burnt quickly, so stay with it.

  2. Assemble

    Pour it into the dish and tilt to coat the bottom. It will set hard and crack as it cools, which is correct. It dissolves into sauce as the dessert chills.

  3. Prep

    Combine the milks, the sugar and the salt in a saucepan, and do not turn on the heat yet.

  4. Prep 5 min · like wet sand

    Bloom the gelatin first. Sprinkle it over 60 g of cold water in a small bowl and leave it 5 minutes, until it has absorbed the water and looks like wet sand. Never add gelatin dry to the pan.

  5. Heat 170°F

    Warm the milk mixture with the zest to about 170°F: steaming, with small bubbles at the edge, and no more. Do NOT boil it. Above roughly 185°F gelatin starts to weaken and you get a set softer than you wanted, or none at all.

  6. Finish no visible strands

    Take it off the heat, stir the bloomed gelatin in and keep stirring until it has completely dissolved with no visible strands. Then add the vanilla and the rum, and strain.

  7. Assemble

    Pour it over the caramel. It stays pourable as it cools, so there is no rush.

  8. Chill 6 h · set

    Rest 10 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate at least 6 hours. Gelatin sets more slowly than agar; four hours is not enough.

  9. Serve

    Turn it out. Run a knife around the edge, set the dish in warm water for 30 seconds, put a rimmed plate over it and invert. The caramel comes with it as sauce.

If it's not right

What you seeWhyWhat to do
It never set, agar version It did not reach a full boil, or it was whisked into hot liquid and clumped. A full rolling boil for two minutes, and the agar goes into the liquid cold.
It never set, gelatin version The mixture was boiled, which weakens gelatin, or the bloomed gelatin was not fully dissolved before pouring. Keep it at about 170°F, and stir until there are no visible strands.
Grainy or lumpy Agar went in hot, or gelatin was added dry instead of bloomed. Agar into cold liquid; gelatin bloomed in cold water first.
Rubbery Too much agar. Drop to ¾ tsp.
Too soft to turn out Not enough setter, or not enough chilling. Gelatin needs the full 6 hours.
The caramel stayed hard in the dish Not enough chilling time for it to dissolve, or the caramel was taken too dark and seized. Four hours minimum.
It tastes flat Not enough salt, or light coconut milk instead of full fat. More salt, and full-fat coconut milk.

Comments (0)

No comments yet.

Sign in to rate this, mark it made, or leave a comment.