Panna Cotta
This panna cotta recipe is the best Italian dessert made with a luscious vanilla custard topped with sweet macerated strawberries. Watch how I make it in the video below!
Servings: 6 servings
Equipment
- Ramekins Here are some great classic ramekins.
- Small Bowls These are the small bowls I use for this recipe.
Ingredients
Panna Cotta
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon unflavored powdered gelatin
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¼ cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- pinch of kosher salt
Macerated Strawberries
- 10 to 12 strawberries thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
Instructions
To make the panna cotta
- To bloom the gelatin: Place the water in a small dish or bowl (wider is better). Sprinkle the gelatin on top, and allow it to dissolve for 5 minutes.
- Warm the cream: Add the cream, milk, and honey to a pot over medium-high heat. Heat the mixture and stir together until a few bubbles appear on the outside edge, just before the boiling point. Then remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
- Stir in gelatin: Add the bloomed gelatine to the pot of cream and whisk until fully dissolved, making sure there are no lumps.
- Pour and chill: Carefully pour the hot cream into six (4-ounce) ramekins. Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge to chill for at least 4 to 6 hours or overnight.
To make the macerated berries
- Stir together: Add the sliced strawberries and maple syrup to a mixing bowl and stir together. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour, until they start to release their natural juices.
To assemble
- To invert the panna cotta: Remove the ramekins from the fridge and run a small knife around the edge and/or dip the bottom of the panna cotta in hot tap water for a few seconds. Then, invert each ramekin onto a dessert plate and give it a gentle tap to release it.
- Top with strawberries: Spoon the strawberries and some juice on top of each panna cotta.
Video
Notes
- If you find that pouring directly from your pot into the ramekins creates a mess, transfer the liquid to a 4-cup measuring cup first. Then you can pour with a bit more precision into the individual ramekins.
- Do you really need to cover the panna cotta with plastic wrap? I don't find that it's completely necessary if you're going to invert the panna cotta before serving. But it does help to reduce the "skin" that forms on top a little bit.
- I prefer to use white honey in the panna cotta and maple syrup in the macerated berries (as it's more liquidy), but really any sugar or sweetener works just fine. So choose your favorite.
Nutrition
Calories: 372kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 41mg | Potassium: 180mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 1234IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 0.3mg