Easy Panna Cotta Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the main ingredients in panna cotta? ›

Panna cotta means “cooked cream” in Italy, and that's essentially what the base is: heated heavy cream (often with a little half-and-half or whole milk) set with powdered gelatin and flavored with vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.

Panna cotta is a gelatinized cream, much like an aspic. Creme brulee is a custard made with eggs. Both are thickened sweet cream, one is cooked on top of the stove and the other is baked in the oven; one is thickened in the refrigerator with gelatin while the other is thickened in the oven by the eggs.

Panna cotta can always be the right dessert — whether you're throwing a fancy party or a small one, have lots of time or no time, are gluten-free, dairy-free, allergy-prone, vegan, or simply craving a delicious and creamy sweet. It's perfect.

Not Setting Properly: If your panna cotta doesn't set properly and remains too runny, it may be due to not using enough gelatin or not allowing it enough time to set. To fix this, you can try adding a bit more gelatin to the mixture or giving it more time to chill and set in the refrigerator.

One of the best known and frequently requested desserts, panna cotta – literally “cooked cream” – originated in Piedmont and is made of cream and sugar. There are different versions and flavorings.

The gelatin gets stronger as it sits, so this will be a bit rubbery by days 4 or 5, but you can mitigate this by letting the panna cotta sit at room temperature for about half an hour before serving.

These days, indulgent restaurant desserts usually share the stage with a healthier fruit component. If you see it, opt for panna cotta—a light, eggless custard—instead of crème brûlée, and a seasonal fruit crisp or tart rather than cheesecake or anything warm and chocolate.

It celebrates the friendly familiarity of gelatin—so much less finicky than egg custards—while stripping its rococo stigma. And unlike its predecessor, the haughty crème brûlée, it doesn't require a blowtorch. Perhaps the dish is a '90s cliché, but panna cotta is one that's endured on its merits.

Although slightly similar in their jello-like appearances, flan and panna cotta actually have very distinguishable flavors and textures. They also come in very different colors and depending on the specific cuisine, different toppings.

Did you know that…? Panna cotta is probably the only dessert which can be made without eggs, flour, sugar and baking.

Does panna cotta jiggle? ›

The ultimate panna cotta should have the perfect wobble — this is an indication of the texture, which should be silky, creamy, melt in the mouth but not too bouncy or rubbery. I'd rather a panna cotta that is more wobbly than too set, personally.

These panna cottas get a flavorful boost from fresh vanilla bean and a bit of Greek yogurt. The desserts are unmolded for a traditional presentation with a few strawberries on top, but chocolate fans could also just drizzle them with chocolate sauce — very Italian as well!

The finished dessert is usually unmolded for a nice plate presentation and served with fruit or a fruit sauce, but can just as easily be made and served in small, clear plastic cups which are ideal for transporting to a dinner party or a picnic.

A perfect panna cotta only has JUST ENOUGH gelatin to hold the cream mixture together. This means that the texture is really jiggly. Too much gelatin and the panna cotta has more of a jello-like consistency. Too little gelatin and the panna cotta won't set properly and you got a recipe for disaster in your hands.

Carefully run a non-serated knife around the inside of the cup. Turn cup upside down on serving plate. Press center of cup to release dessert.

Panna cotta is a traditional Italian dessert made with either cream or a combination of cream and milk, plus sugar and gelatin. It is usually molded in small custard cups or ramekins and can be served right from the dish or unmolded.

Panna cotta is all about the mouthfeel: The smooth, velvety cream has enough tension to hold up to a spoon but melts in the mouth. The best panna cotta has an understated character, highlighting the inherent sweetness of the dairy and the warmth from a fresh vanilla bean. Panna cotta shouldn't be cloying, or heavy.

If you find that your panna cotta separates into two layers, one that's creamy and one that's more gelatin-like — there can be two reasons. First, either your gelatin didn't bloom and dissolve properly when stirred into the cream. Second, the cream mixture boiled after the gelatin was added.