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I’m going to share the best dessert I’ve ever made (I’ll probably say the same thing every time I come up with a new one).
It brings together everything I love. Delicacy without being heavy or too sweet. Floral notes that pair beautifully and a play of textures.
The bonus is that it can be made all year round, because even though it features a fruit you find in winter, the underrated canned version comes into play.
The perfect pairing of lychee and rose, since the fruit has floral notes that echo it perfectly.
Delicate in taste but also visually, with this veil that immediately makes an impression.
The coconut milk panna cotta brings roundness to the dessert through its creaminess and melt-in-the-mouth texture.
The Breton shortbread, with its characteristic salted butter, lifts the flavors and adds more depth to the dessert and the crunch balances out the soft elements.
Soak the gelatin in cold water for about ten minutes
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the coconut milk, cream, and sugar
Off the heat, add the squeezed-out gelatin and the vanilla.
Pour into silicone half-sphere molds about 8 cm in diameter and let set in the fridge for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.
Whisk the egg yolk and sugar until the mixture turns pale.
Add the softened butter and mix well.
Fold in the flour and the baking powder.
Once the dough is shaped into a ball, let it rest for 30 minutes in the fridge to roll it out more easily.
Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F)
Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough to a thickness of 1 cm.
Using 10 cm pastry rings, cut out the shortbreads. Keep the rings on during baking to maintain an even shape.
Bake for 15 minutes, until the shortbreads are golden.
Blend the syrup and lychee well to obtain a smooth mixture.
In a saucepan, heat this mixture with the sugar
Add the agar-agar and let it boil for 1 minute
Pour into a mold of roughly 31 x 24 cm and immediately spread the rose petals over the entire surface. Push them lightly into the liquid without fully submerging them
Remove the pastry rings from the discs
Gently loosen the edges of the pannacotta domes to unmold them. If you feel it is too fragile to transfer them onto the shortbread, place the shortbread directly over the mold and flip it
Using a 12 cm ring, cut out the lychee veil and gently lay it on top
Ingredients
Directions
Soak the gelatin in cold water for about ten minutes
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the coconut milk, cream, and sugar
Off the heat, add the squeezed-out gelatin and the vanilla.
Pour into silicone half-sphere molds about 8 cm in diameter and let set in the fridge for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.
Whisk the egg yolk and sugar until the mixture turns pale.
Add the softened butter and mix well.
Fold in the flour and the baking powder.
Once the dough is shaped into a ball, let it rest for 30 minutes in the fridge to roll it out more easily.
Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F)
Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough to a thickness of 1 cm.
Using 10 cm pastry rings, cut out the shortbreads. Keep the rings on during baking to maintain an even shape.
Bake for 15 minutes, until the shortbreads are golden.
Blend the syrup and lychee well to obtain a smooth mixture.
In a saucepan, heat this mixture with the sugar
Add the agar-agar and let it boil for 1 minute
Pour into a mold of roughly 31 x 24 cm and immediately spread the rose petals over the entire surface. Push them lightly into the liquid without fully submerging them
Remove the pastry rings from the discs
Gently loosen the edges of the pannacotta domes to unmold them. If you feel it is too fragile to transfer them onto the shortbread, place the shortbread directly over the mold and flip it
Using a 12 cm ring, cut out the lychee veil and gently lay it on top