Dessert on a Diet

The Quest: Make a dessert high in nutritional value, that tastes great and is relatively low in calories.  Bonus: Vegan (I want EVERYONE to be able to enjoy this.)
Double Bonus: The cooking time is less than a half hour, although the refrigeration is 4 hours.
The Experiment:  A different kind of Panna Cotta.

Back Story: Everyone will recognize that I've had no professional training for cooking.  Almost everything I've learned I picked up from my parents, reading cook books, watching TV and videos and lots of trial and error.  You also know that I've been on a bit of a health kick of late.  I want to look and feel better all of the time.  But I'm still a glutton at heart.  I love sweet, salty, rich and creamy foods.  How can a glutton have everything he wants?

This is my problem.  I can't read this.
Neither can you.  So, don't judge me.

The Players: Panna cotta is a milk-based dessert set using animal-based gelatin.  Neither of these things are allowed in a vegan diet.  What can be substituted for whole milk?  Nothing really, but I tried both unsweetened soy milk and plain almond milk.  I liked the taste of almond better.  It also has less fat (good for me, bad for dessert), less calories and more nutrition than soy.  Even more challenging, I need to find a substitute for heavy cream.  I selected canned, unsweetened coconut milk.  It has a relatively high fat content (although nowhere near real cream), is naturally sweet and rich. To set the gel, I looked for plant substitutes.  Agar (or agar agar) is a structural agent found in the cell walls of red algae.  I found it in the baking aisle of my local grocery store, in thread and powdered form.  (Like the adventuresome idiot I sometimes am, I got my agar agar from the Pacific Ocean Marketplace years ago before I knew what it was or how to use it.  It's been sitting in our pantry for at least 5 years.)

The cast of characters.

If I stopped here, the panna cotta would taste ok, but not great.  The really rich creaminess just can't be brought to life without richer and creamier ingredients.  Therefore, I decided to go in a different direction.  I added a can of pumpkin puree and 2 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger to really punch up the "wow" factor.  The resulting mix has only 94 calories, 110% daily requirement of vitamin A, 10% daily requirement of vitamin C, is high in dietary fiber, calcium and iron, has 0 cholesterol, and only 4 grams of fat.  And it tastes GREAT!

The resulting panna cotta?  A failure the first time around.  It didn't gel.  That was a fear of mine with so little fat.

The next try?  Stay tuned.

Tonight for dessert, we're having:

Vegan Pumpkin Ginger Panna Cotta Ice Cream
1 cup Almond Milk
2 tablespoons Agar Agar Threads
1 can (15oz) Pumpkin Puree
2 tablespoon grated fresh Ginger
2 cups Coconut Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
6 tablespoons Sugar
pinch of Salt

Pour the almond milk into a medium sauce pan and sprinkle the agar evenly over the surface of the milk. Let stand for 10 minutes to allow the agar to hydrate. Get the rest of your ingredients ready and also fill a very large mixing bowl 1/2 way with ice and add enough water to let the ice cubes float off the bottom. Get another bowl ready that is small enough to fit inside the large bowl, and large enough to hold about 6-8 cups of liquid. Also set out the ramekins or cups you will use for chilling.

Heat the almond milk and agar on medium heat, stirring constantly, until the agar dissolves completely and the temperature reaches 135 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and salt until dissolved.

Pour the almond milk mixture, the coconut milk, pumpkin, ginger and the vanilla into the smaller of the two bowls and place that bowl into the ice water bath. Stirring constantly, chill the mixture to 50 degrees.

Pour the finished mixture into the cups, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

To serve, dip the cup into hot water for 15-20 seconds, making sure not to let any water spill into the panna cotta. Wet your finger and gently run it around the edge of the cup loosening the panna cotta's hold. Turn out onto a serving plate and top with your favorite syrup, sauce, fruit, nuts, etc.

Pour all the ingredients into the ice cream mixer.  Add 6 more tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.  Mix and chill according to the mixer's instructions.  Freeze for a bit longer.  Serve 2 scoops in a bowl or on a cone.  Contemplate another solution to the panna cotta dilema.