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Tropical Fruit "Stained Glass" Panna Cotta

Super creamy panna cotta, set with gelatin, suspends the tropical fruit jello cubes to create a stained glass effect when you cut into this showstopping dessert. I made 4 different tropical fruit jello cubes to add drama and color, but ended up with leftover cubes to snack on. If you want to make only 3 different cube flavors, you will have less leftovers, but you won't have as much color.
When picking the fruits, try to go with different colors, so the "stained glass" is vibrant. Be sure to read the Baker's notes about what tropical fruits to use, some fruit doesn't play well with gelatin.
Author: Zoë François

Ingredients

Tropical Fruit Jello Cubes (you will need to make this four times with different juices)

  • 3 sheets 8g gelatin or 1 envelope (8g) Knox powdered unflavored gelatin
  • 1 cup tropical fruit juice or puree* (be sure to read baker's notes before choosing the fruit)
  • 2 to 4 Tbsp sugar depends on the fruit juice

Panna Cotta Base

  • 7 sheets 18g gelatin or 2 1/2 envelopes of Knox powdered unflavored gelatin (18g)
  • 1 13.66 fl oz (403g) can coconut milk not low fat
  • 2/3 cup / 125g sugar
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 lime, zested or lemon or orange
  • 1 1/3 cup / 300g heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Make the Tropical Fruit Jello Cubes x4

  • I made 4 kinds (mango, passion fruit, dragon fruit, or pomegranate)* to have a colorful pattern but had leftover cubes to snack on. (see baker's notes before picking your fruit flavors)
  • Lightly grease 4 mini loaf pans with cooking spray or oil
  • In a small bowl, submerge sheet gelatin in cold water to bloom (use 3 Tbsp water for the powdered gelatin)
  • In a small saucepan, bring the juice and sugar to a simmer, cook until the sugar dissolves. Squeeze the excess water from the bloomed sheet gelatin (see video)** and whisk it into the simmering juice until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Pour the mixture into prepared mini loaf pan.
    Chill for a few hours or overnight.
  • Repeat with the other juice flavors.
  • Once the juice is set firm like Jell-O, dip the mini loaf pan in hot water and invert the jello onto a cutting board. Cut into cubes. Keep them in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the panna cotta.

Make Panna Cotta Base

  • In a medium bowl, submerge sheet gelatin in cold water to bloom (1/3 cup for the powdered gelatin).
  • In a saucepan, bring the coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, and zest to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
  • Squeeze excess water from the bloomed gelatin sheets (see video)** and whisk the sheets into the hot coconut milk mixture, until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
  • Remove from heat and whisk in the heavy whipping cream. Pour into a large measuring cup and allow the mixture to come to room temperature.

To Assemble the Panna Cotta

  • Lightly grease a 6-cup decorative jello mold – you can use larger ones but may need additional panna cotta to fill it.
  • Once the panna cotta is room temperature, it may start to thicken slightly but should still be liquid, pour about 1/4 of the panna cotta into the mold and tilt the pan to coat the sides. Add a layer of the tropical fruit jello cubes. Pour more panna cotta over the cubes, to just cover them. Refrigerate the mold for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the panna cotta is set enough to hold the weight of the next layer of jello cubes.
    Leave the remaining panna cotta at room temperature, so it remains liquid.***
  • Once the first layer is set, pour another 1/4 of the panna cotta into the mold, add another layer of jello cubes and cover with more panna cotta. Refrigerate for 10 to fifteen minutes or until set.
  • Repeat two more times, until all of the panna cotta is used up. You may have jello cubes leftover.
    Refrigerate the panna cotta for several hours or overnight.

To Serve

  • Dip the mold into a large bowl of hot water for about 20 seconds. Gently run a knife around the top edge and center tube of the mold and invert onto a serving plate. If it doesn’t release, dip it in the hot water again.
  • Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Use a knife dipped in hot water to cut the panna cotta.

Notes

*FRUITS TO AVOID or cook: There are certain fruits that have enzymes that prevent gelatin from solidifying. These fruit juices must be COOKED to break down the enzymes before adding gelatin.
    • Pineapple, kiwi, papaya, passion fruit, guava, and mango juice can be cooked and used to make jello cubes. DO NOT ADD CHUNKS OF THESE FRUITS TO YOUR gelatin desserts. 
I used mango, passion fruit, dragon fruit and pomegranate for a variety of colors. Since I simmer the juice before adding the bloomed gelatin, it all worked out perfectly. 
**if you are using powdered gelatin for your recipe, see the video on how to use it. You will skip the step of squeezing the excess water and just put the blob of bloomed gelatin right into the simmering juice or cream. 
***if the panna cotta mixture sets up too much and is no longer liquid enough to pour, you can warm is slightly to remelt the gelatin. You can do this in the microwave for about 10 seconds.