Panna cotta recipe (cooked cream) is one of the simplest and quickest to make Italian recipes: in fact, you need only 4 ingredients, a small pan and 4 molds to prepare this fantastic dessert. Plus, it can be prepared in advance.
Despite many legends surrounding the panna cotta, the origins of this Italian dessert are quite recent and date back to the early 1900s when it was invented in the Langhe, a beautiful area in Piedmont, famous for its excellent wine and very good food.
Since then, it has spread across Italy and throughout the world – like many others Italian recipes -, due to its simplicity of its preparation and its versatility which make it a perfect customizable dessert to suit everyone’s tastes.
The classic version of this panna cotta’s recipe involves the use of vanilla but you can prepare many variants with chocolate, coffee, almonds, fruits…
The same applies to the endless variants of toppings that can be also prepared: the strawberry coulis, the chocolate sauce and the salted caramel are the most traditional, but you can indulge yourself with what you like the most.
Method
To prepare panna cotta recipe pour cold water in a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Let stand for about 10 minutes to soften.
Meanwhile, on a chopping board, with the tip of a knife cut the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds from the pod. In a medium saucepan heat the heavy cream, the sugar and stir gently.
Add the vanilla seeds and pod on medium heat, stirring and bring just to a boil. Remove saucepan from heat once the sugar is dissolved.
Squeeze the gelatin (use a sieve to drain completely the liquid) and stir in the mixture until it’s fully dissolved; then discard the vanilla pod.
Pour the panna cotta mixture directly in the glasses or in the selected containers, one at a time, using a funnel to pour perfectly the mixture into the individual glass. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Top the panna cotta with the strawberries coulis and then garnish with wild berries and mint leaves.
Panna Cotta Cooking Tips
- You can also top your panna cotta with chocolate ganache, caramel sauce or lemon curd.
- If you choose to pour you panna cotta into small moulds, here’s what to do when you’re ready to serve.
In a small saucepan put some water to boil. Then turn off and dip the mould up to its rim for a second in hot water and then turn it out.
Turn the mould onto a serving plate, insert the tip of a knife between the dessert and the mould and release.
Storage
You can store panna cotta in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for a month but we suggest you to eat your panna cotta as soon as possible.
Panna Cotta
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1,5 cups (400 gr) of heavy cream
- 3,40 cups (80 gr) of confectioner's sugar
- 0,25 oz (5 gr) of envelope unflavored gelatin
- 1 vanilla bean
Instructions
Pour cold water in a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Let stand for about 10 minutes to soften. Meanwhile, on a chopping board, with the tip of a knife cut the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds from the pod.
In a medium saucepan heat the heavy cream, the sugar, the vanilla seeds and pod on medium heat, stirring and bring just to a boil. Remove saucepan from heat once the sugar is dissolved. Squeeze the gelatin (use a sieve to drain the liquid if you prefer) and stir in the mixture until it’s fully dissolved; then discard the vanilla pod.
Pour the panna cotta mixture directly in the glasses or in the selected containers, one at a time, using a funnel to pour perfectly the mixture into the individual glass. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Top the panna cotta with the strawberries coulis and then garnish with wild berries and mint leaves.
