I love creamy desserts – on the spectrum from carby desserts (pastries, cakes, cookies, etc.) to creamy desserts (ice cream, custards, mousses) I am 100% on the creamy side of the spectrum. I had a delicious panna cotta at an Italian restaurant at a work dinner – I didn’t have the time (or the budget) to make ordering dessert at fancy Italian restaurants a regular occurence, so this was my quick, easy, and cheap solution. I would make panna cotta at home.
Thoughts on Ingredients
Your panna cotta will only taste as good as your cream. Choose wisely – if you don’t really have a preference when it comes to dairy products, you’re probably fine, but I do think it’ll make a world of difference to reach for the grassfed, straight-from-the-farm stuff.
Most panna cotta recipes call for heavy cream – I’ve tried this recipe before with half and half (the difference? half half is usually 10-20% fat, cream is 35-40% fat), and it worked ok. I would recommend doubling the amount of gelatin to get a final product that still has the jello-like “wobble.”
High quality gelatin is best – I recommend NuNaturals, but you can use whichever brand you like! The NuNaturals stuff has a bit of a beefy smell right out of the bag, but it disappears with heat and other flavors.
For sweeteners, depends on your vibe – classic panna cotta uses white sugar. I tried using honey instead and I LOVED the result – I got a delicious milk & honey panna cotta. I would try this with maple syrup too. You can use whatever sweetener you like, but consider the depth of flavor you could get with honey, maple syrup, or even something like date syrup.
I also love adding in some egg yolks. They give the panna cotta a nice golden color, and deepen the flavor (and add some nutrients!). This is probably not traditional, but I highly recommend it!
What You Need
- 4 ramekins
- 1/4 cup of cold milk or water
- 1.25 tsp / 4g of powdered gelatin (double if using half and half)
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup sugar (or 1/4 cup of honey / maple syrup)
- 6 egg yolks (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
The Recipe
- Sprinkle the gelatin over the 1/4 cup of cold milk / water, and let it sit for 10 minutes to bloom
- Heat the cream, sweetener, and vanilla just up to a boil and immediately bring to low heat
- Over low heat, mix in egg yolks (if using) while constantly stirring
- Whisk in the gelatin until everything is dissolved – be careful not to heat the mixture up too much, should be a very gentle heat
- Pour the mixture into ramekins and refrigerate for 2-4 hours
- Enjoy!
These should be good in the fridge, covered, for 3-4 days. Enjoy with some fruit – blackberries pair very well – or some chocolate fudge for something more decadent!