Raspberry Panna Cotta with Fresh Kiwi Sauce {using Kefir!}

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I’m a sucker for a good dessert. I often think I like more savory dishes but then I see a hunk of chocolate and it’s ova! I also love experimenting with new flavors, techniques and food styling. One thing I have been dying to make lately was a nice, cool and creamy panna cotta. I love the richness of a panna cotta and I knew it would be perfect for summer. It’s a simple dessert to put together too and looks pretty impressive if serving it to dinner guests. I love that, hehe! I wanted to put a little twist on a classic panna cotta and used a yogurt base infused with raspberries instead. The slight tartness from the yogurt really went nicely with the sweetness. A fresh kiwi sauce rounded out the dish and looks gorgeous on the plate.

Raspberry Panna Cotta with Fresh Kiwi Sauce

The secret to this dessert was the Lifeway kefir I used. Kefir is a cousin to yogurt and is very smooth, slightly tart and has probiotic cultures that make your digestive system happy.  I picked up mine at my local Winn Dixie. I purchased the raspberry flavor which I usually get the most, it’s my favorite but there are other flavors like mango, strawberry banana, blueberry or plain among others. I found it by the milk and dairy products but I’ve also seen it by the yogurt at other locations.

I’ve found is it really great in smoothies (like my banana berry smoothie!), on it’s own or like I made here, in desserts! Recipe adapted from Epicurious.com.

Step by Step Directions

Combine the water and gelatin in a bowl. Mix until gelatin is thoroughly incorporated. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk kefir and 3/4 Cup cream together. Set aside.

In a sauce pan, add the remaining cream and 3/4 Cup sugar. Over medium low heat, bring mixture to simmer, just until the sugar dissolves. Take off the heat.

Add the thickened gelatin mixture to the hot cream. Whisk together until the gelatin is melted and no chunks are left.
Add the gelatin and cream mixture to the kefir mix, straining it with a fine mesh colander while adding. This ensures there are no gelatin or sugar chunks added.

Whisk everything to blend, pour mixture into individual silicone molds (I used silicone cupcake liners.) or into a cake pan that has been lightly coated with canola oil.
Let sit in the fridge until they cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until they are set about 4 hours for the smaller molds or up to over night.

Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. You can strain mixture if you with but I left it whole, I love the way the kiwi seeds pop.
Serve over panna cotta or however you wish, enjoy!

Unmold by placing the bottom half of the molds into warm water, flipping them over onto a plate. Serve as is or with kiwi sauce.

See, not very hard but definite wow factor! The hardest part to me is the unmolding, as you can see in the pictures. Oh well, still delish!

So smooth and creamy!

I only molded six of them for after dinner the following night and with the remaining panna cotta and kiwi sauce, I poured them into small mason jars and gave it away to my in laws. They were super cute that too, and much easier not having to unmold them! Either way, they will look great on your next outdoor summer spread!

Looking for some Lifeway coupons to try it out yourself? Sign up here!

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