Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Pomegranate Lemon Gelée and a Giveaway

It’s only a few more weeks from Valentine’s Day.  If you do celebrate, I have a fabulous dessert recipe for you today.  Okay, even if you don’t celebrate, you can still make this gorgeous desserts, right?  Who knows, if you make this dessert for that special someone, after just one bite (of the dessert of course), that person could be falling in love with you.  Worse case scenario, that person only falls in love with this dessert.



After tasting this Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Pomegranate Lemon Jelly, my Little Boy named it “Bouncy Jelly with Cream”.  Very descriptive and to the point!  My Little Girl was too busy eating and she didn’t even say a word until the whole cup disappeared in less than a few minutes.



Just like how my Little Boy described it, the Pomegranate Lemon Gelée was quite bouncy, yet tender and smooth.  The perfect texture for Gelée.  It’s sweet and tart at the same time.  Super refreshing and packed with fresh lemon scent because of the NuNaturals Lemon NuStevia that I used as the sweetener.  The Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta was creamy and decadent.  The vanilla aroma was wonderful.  Please note that I don’t normally use sweeteners because of the after-taste that is often associated with most of them.  I have to say, I was very surprised there’s no after taste from these natural liquid sweeteners at all.   I also love the fact that these sweeteners are made with natural ingredients, alcohol free and gluten free.  It’s a great way to reduce or eliminate refined sugar from my diet, yet still satisfy my sweet tooth cravings.
      


Want to check out how to make these Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Pomegranate Lemon Gelée?  Please follow me to the kitchen.

1)  In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, vanilla seeds and pod on medium-low heat until simmer. Cover, remove from heat and let mixture steep for an hour.

2) Sprinkle the gelatin over the milk in a bowl and let stand for 5 minutes, or until the gelatin softens. Reheat the vanilla cream mixture and add the gelatin mixture into the hot cream, stir to dissolve. (sorry, I forgot to take a picture of that) Add the Vanilla Sweetener, taste and add more if needed.

3) Strain mixture into a measuring cup with beaker.

4) Equally divided the mixture into 10 3-ounce ramekins or glasses, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferable overnight or until set.



5) In a small heat proofed bowl, place 1/2 cup pomegranate juice and powdered gelatin and mix well. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

6) Place the remaining 1/2 cup of pomegranate juice in a measuring cup. Heat the gelatin mixture in the microwave for 30 to 45 second, or until gelatin dissolved. Add gelatin mixture to the measuring cup, add Lemon Sweetener and adjust to your own taste.

7) Evenly divided the pomegranate mixture over the panna cottas and refrigerate for at least two hours, or until set.

8) Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds and mint leaves when ready to serve.



Simple enough, right?  I hope you’re convinced to give this dessert a try.



Here’s a closer look of that perfect bite.  The fresh pomegranate seeds on top add a little crunch and the juice will burst in your mouth when you bite into one. 
 

Great news for you, my friends!  Here’s a chance to win some of these NuNaturals products of your own to create this wonderful dessert, courtesy of NuNaturals. 


This giveaway is now closed.  Winners were announced on this post.

Giveaway Details:
1) NuNaturals generously offered 4 uTry.it readers a bottle of each of their new all-natural sweeteners (as shown in the picture below):

• Chocolate NuStevia Liquid, Alcohol-Free, 2 oz. Bottle
• Lemon NuStevia Liquid, Alcohol-Free, 2 oz. Bottle
• Orange NuStevia Liquid, Alcohol-Free, 2 oz. Bottle
• Peppermint NuStevia Liquid, Alcohol-Free, 2 oz. Bottle

2) This giveaway is open worldwide

3) To enter, simply leave a comment on this post and tell me your favorite thing to make/cook for a special occasion.

4) Deadline to enter is January 28th, 2013 (my mid-night PST). Winners will be randomly selected and notify by email. So, please make sure to leave your email address in the comment so that I can contact you if you’re one of the lucky winners.

5) For extra entries, share this post (with a link back to this post) on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or any social media that you like.  Simply leave a separate comment for each action that you did to let me know you’ve shared.

NuNaturals is also offering a special discount for uTry.it’s readers as well.  At check out, enter the SPECIAL DISCOUNT CODE of  BLG0613 to receive a  -15% discount on your entire order. This Discount remains effective until  June, 30, 2013.

That’s all. Good Luck everyone.



Disclaimer: I received NuNaturals products free of charge to try.  I was not required to write a review at all, nor a positive one.  I was NOT compensated in any other way.  All opinions are 100% my own.




Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Pomegranate Lemon Gelée:  (Printable Recipe)
Servings: 10

Ingredients for Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta:
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
3/4  dropperful NuNatural Vanilla Sweetener (more or less, depending on your preference)
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds and fresh mint leaves, for garnish

Ingredient for Pomegranate Lemon Jelly
11/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 dropperful NuNatural Lemon Sweetener

To prepare the Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta:
In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, vanilla seeds and pod on medium-low heat until simmer. Cover, remove from heat and let mixture steep for an hour.

Sprinkle the gelatin over the milk in a bowl and let stand for 5 minutes, or until the gelatin softens.  Reheat the vanilla cream mixture and add the gelatin mixture into the hot cream, stir to dissolve.  Add the Vanilla Sweetener, taste and add more if needed.  Strain mixture into 10 3-ounce ramekins, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferable overnight or until set.

To Prepare the Pomegranate Lemon Jelly:
In a small heat proofed bowl, place 1/2 cup pomegranate juice and powdered gelatin and mix well. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

Place the remaining 1/2 cup of pomegranate juice in a measuring cup.  Heat the gelatin mixture in the microwave for 30 to 45 second, or until gelatin dissolved.  Add gelatin mixture to the measuring cup, add Lemon Sweetener and adjust to your own taste.  Evenly divided the pomegranate mixture over the panna cottas and refrigerate for at least two hours, or until set. Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds and mint leaves when ready to serve.