19 Aug Matcha Panna Cotta with Hibiscus Gelée + Stovetop Black Sesame Granola

Eff the Oven August is BAAAAACK! Juuuust a couple of weeks late. Sorry, team. I mean, technically last week’s Habanero Blueberry Jam is “no-bake” buuut, yeah. I’m late. Like, waaaaay late. As you may have noticed, things have been a little slow moving around here lately and, while I hate feeling behind schedule, life just hasn’t allowed for me to spend as much time in bloggyland as I’d like. One un-purchased home ($$$$, tooooo much of it) and a rejected opportunity to be on the Food Network later (yep, I’ll share many, many words about that one eventually), here we are, kicking off Eff the Oven August two-ish weeks into the month.

Mah bad. You guys still like ice cream recipes in September, right?

For those of you who aren’t familiar, Eff the Oven August is a series that I kicked off last summer in which, you guessed it, I vow to blog about only no-bake recipes for the entire month of August. Yep, in the name of maintaining my sanity (and saving our electric bill), this month, for the whole month (or at least what’s left of it), I’m turning off the oven. Simply put, it’s just too damn hot around here to bake.

Since I’m two weeks behind (UGH), here are three of my favorite recipes from last year’s no-bake party:

Lemon-Ginger Quinoa Pudding with Plum Conserve — seriously, so unexpected (quinoa for dessert!) and delicious!

Coconut & Cocoa Nib Sorbet — supah foods in dessert! High five!

Herbed Fig & Goat Cheese Popsicles — makes me want to go back in time and give my August 2014 a big ol’ bear hug! <3 ++ figs are so hawt right now! <3

Okay. Now that we’ve taken a little trip down memory lane, on to today’s showstopper!

A couple months ago I found myself packing up and heading to New York City for a work trip. It was my first time in the Big Apple in almost a decade (I know, I need to get out more) so while it was quick, I was determined to accomplish a little bakery tourism while there. On the morning of my meeting, I peeled myself out of bed just a teensy bit early (no easy feat after an evening spent feasting on Greek food [and wine]), and made the 5-block trek to Bibble & Sip, a modern little bakery & coffee shop in Midtown (I think?) that serves up a gaggle of tea-inspired baked goods and lattes with a cute alpaca logo to boot.

My good friend, Yelp, told me that I needed to try their breakfast panna cotta, and breakfast panna cotta, I did. This recipe is inspired by the jasmine matcha panna cotta that I had that morning, more than worth the 30 minutes of missed sleep, and so memorable that, until now, I’ve been staving off a craving for a homemade repeat.

The base eliminates panna cotta’s typical heavy cream and instead features a combination of greek yogurt and coconut milk, whisked with a healthy dose of matcha powder, sweetened with a touch of wildflower honey, and chilled until set and creamy. It’s a solid combination on its own, the perfect way to shake up your typical weekday yogurt breakfast (not to mention a cinch to prep the night before), but I couldn’t resist building upon it’s subtly grassy flavor with another one of favorite tea-inspired flavors — hibiscus.

To the top of the panna cotta, I added a delicate layer of hibiscus gelée that provides a lovely compliment to the earthy notes of the matcha — slightly sweet and tart, its jewel tone hue and bright tang add a herbal, lemony punch. And finally, since texture is of the utmost importance, a healthy dose of crunch is added via a lightly sweet and nutty stovetop granola, studded with velvety macadamia nuts and toasty little black sesame seeds. Each component is independently delicious, but when combined they marry into a most perfect indulgent and satisfying breakfast, or even a light, summery dessert. Enjoy!

A Few Notes About This Recipe:

Matcha is a powder made from ground green tea leaves. It can be fairly expensive, but in my opinion, completely worth the splurge. For a more economical version of this panna cotta, steep 2-3 bags of green tea in the warm coconut milk & gelatin mixture before adding the honey & greek yogurt. 

For the hibiscus gelée, make sure to bloom and melt the gelatin in the hibiscus tea before adding in the sugar. On my first try, I made a hibiscus simple syrup before adding the gelatin and the gelée did not fully set. 

RELATED POSTS:

Matcha Panna Cotta & Black Sesame Tartlets Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Strawberry Crumble Topping // Eff the Oven August Chai Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta with Crunchy Mocha Quinoa & Pomegranate Hibiscus Marshmallows, for Camille Styles