Each month we’ll share a fabulous – and favourite – recipe from our two resident chefs, Executive Chef Malika van Reenen and Head Pastry Chef Lorraine Meaney.

This month Lorraine will tempt you with a delightful summer dessert, Coconut Pannacotta, Passion Fruit Jelly, Tropical Fruit Salad and White Rum Granita.

Lorraine has been part of the Cape Grace family for over two years now but started her career at the Sandton Sun InterContinental.  She later refined her skills at Dublin’s The Westbury and Sandhurst’s Saxon Boutique Hotel before taking up a position at Prue Leith Chef’s Academy.

Last year she was one of the guest chefs in the first MasterChef SA competition where she stretched three finalists to almost breaking point in an epic Pressure test where they had to recreate her Passion Hazelnut Gateau – a complex chocolate mousse cake with a biscuit base, meringue layer and a passion fruit panna cotta, all covered in a shiny chocolate glaze.  This month’s recipe however is a lot easier so give it a go and let us know how it turned out!

COCONUT PANNA COTTA, PASSION FRUIT JELLY, TROPICAL FRUIT SALAD AND WHITE RUM GRANITA:

White Rum Granita (make this the night before and leave in the fridge):

500ml water
100ml sugar
100ml white rum

• Boil the ingredients together and pour into a shallow tray, cool
• Place in the freezer. When it has frozen use a fork to scrape ice shards

Passion Fruit Jelly (make this the night before to make things easier):

125g fresh passion fruit juice with seeds
62g sugar
5g gelatin, hydrated

• Boil the juice and sugar together, add the hydrated gelatin. Pour into the base of a glass or clip Jar
• Allow to set for 1 hour in the fridge

Coconut Panna Cotta:

250ml cream
250ml coconut milk
2,5 leaves gelatine, hydrated
40g muscovado sugar
1 vanilla bean

• Heat the cream and coconut milk with the sugar and the vanilla pod.
• Add the gelatine leaf
• Pour the panna cotta on top of the set passion fruit jelly into the glass or  clip Jar to set

Tropical Fruit Salad
Use the following fruits to make a fruit salad

¼ pineapple, small blocks
¼ papaya, small blocks
4 litchi, quartered
1 mango, small blocks

Assembly :

Once the panna cotta is set place a portion of fruits loosely on top then when you are ready to serve spoon a generous heap of white rum granite and garnish with some fresh mint leaves.