Black Sugar Panna Cotta
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Intro
In Taiwanese culture, “black sugar,” which is the direct translation of its Chinese name (黑糖) is very popular and even more popular now due to the popularity of boba shops like Tiger Sugar. Although it’s all the Instagram rage now, it’s been used in Taiwanese cooking for centuries; it’s even been used medicinally since it’s “warming” in nature. There’s technically a claim to be made for black sugar being considered “healthy” because it’s less processed than commercial brown sugar (and all its even more refined counterparts all the way down to regular white sugar) so it retains more of its nutrients, but, like, it’s still sugar so everyone needs to chill out. “Black sugar” is actually a type of brown sugar but I’m going to continue calling it black sugar on this site to avoid confusion.
Having grown up with this, I’m so excited to share some recipes with this ingredient because it’s so much more complex and rich in flavor than traditional sugars. Brown sugar is cool and all but black sugar is infinitely better. It’s less sweet than other processed sugars, more sand-like in its consistency, and it has a deeper caramel taste and even slightly smoky flavor that I would liken to an oolong tea. Okinawan black sugar is the most prized, its purest form actually coming in almost-black blocks. The black sugar I have in this photo is obviously not that, but after some initial searches online, true Okinawan black sugar would have cost me upwards of $90 for a small bag (!!). So unfortunately, I’m only able to manage what I can find at my local Asian supermarkets so that will have to do for now.
Anyways, this recipe is actually a non-dairy panna cotta (for all my lacto-intolerant friends out there) but can easily be swapped with actual dairy (use full-fat organic milk) if you’d like. I BARELY sweeten the panna cotta at all in this recipe, though, since we’re pouring a sweet sauce over it so if you’re going to adapt the panna cotta part of this recipe only remember to add a bit more sugar! I also use agar agar flakes (so I guess this is also technically vegan; I also have a conversion in the recipe if you have agar agar POWDER) because I happen to have it on hand but you can use unflavored gelatin powder if that tickles your fancy. I bought the agar agar flakes at a Whole Foods in the International/Global Aisle (which…lol).
This black sugar syrup can be used in other desserts as well, like boba/bubble tea, over ice cream (or even IN ice cream if you have a machine), to sweeten cakes, on mochi, the list can go on forever. But for now my first black sugar recipe will go with this panna cotta, whose light and creamy flavor pairs so well with this caramel-y sauce. At some point I’m going to make this with boba inside the panna cotta!
I got this black sugar from my local H Mart but I’ll update this recipe if I find a reliable seller on Amazon though (if you know of one please message me!). Just make sure that the packaging has the Chinese characters “黑糖” if it says “brown sugar” on the bag.
What You'll Need
Portions will vary on the size of your containers; I filled (75% full each) 2 7-oz glass containers, 2 8-oz containers, and 1 10-oz container; you will NOT need to account for expansion once the panna cotta is set~
For the black sugar sauce:
1 cup black sugar $
1 cup water
1 slice of fresh ginger (optional)
For the panna cotta:
2 cans of organic, full-fat coconut milk (totaling 27 fl oz) ^
2 TBSP agar agar flakes *
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBSP regular sugar
$ I used a Taiwanese brand but if you’re using pure Okinawan black sugar I would substitute about ⅓ of this sugar with regular cane sugar otherwise it will be VERY intense on the molasses flavor (almost to the point of being bitter)
^ Or 2.5 cups of organic whole milk + 1 cup heavy whipping cream
* Or 2 tsp agar agar POWDER; can also use unflavored gelatin powder — I’ve never tried making this but I’ve read around that 1 tsp of agar agar powder roughly “equals” 8 tsp of gelatin (so 16 tsp of gelatin powder)
Instructions
Prepare the panna cotta:
Heat up ½ cup of the coconut milk, regular sugar, and the agar agar in a small saucepan on medium-low heat, mixing well to make sure it fully dissolves
Once the agar agar mixture come to a light boil, turn heat down a bit so it doesn’t burn; continue to let it simmer until the agar fully dissolves, stirring frequently to help it along (it took ~ 8 min for me; you’ll notice there are no more crystals and it just looks like smooth coconut milk) then turn off heat
In a separate pot, add the rest of the coconut milk and heat over medium-low heat until it comes to a simmer
Pour the agar mixture into the pot with the rest of the coconut milk and bring back to a simmer; add in the vanilla extract and stir until fully mixed; there should be no uneven clumps and it should look like seamless coconut milk
Once the coconut mixture has a smooth consistency (i.e. no clumps), turn off the heat and remove from heat; let this mixture cool for 10 minutes, giving it the occasional stir
Pour this coconut mixture into your panna cotta cups, cover them, and put into the fridge to let set and firm up
Prepare the black sugar syrup:
In a small pot, bring the black sugar and water to a boil over medium heat; stir well to dissolve the sugar
Once boiling, reduce the heat to achieve a simmer and add in the ginger (if using)
Let this reduce down for ~23 min, making sure to give it a stir and to not let the ginger sit at the bottom for too long so that it doesn’t burn; remove the ginger about 10 minutes in and discard
Let the syrup cool in the stove for a bit before pouring into a container; mine yielded ⅔ cup of syrup
How to Enjoy!
This is pretty straightforward: drizzle some of the black sugar syrup over the panna cotta and enjoy! Like I mentioned above, you can just make the panna cotta part and use whatever topping you like AND/OR use the black sugar syrup for something else, like milk tea, drizzled on mochi, etc.
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