Silky Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce
Panna cotta is the ultimate, fancy comfort food. And today’s recipe just hits the spot for Spring.
Garnished with a freshly, homemade raspberry sauce and mint, this panna cotta is both creamy and refreshing. It’s both rich and light.
I could seriously eat this stuff by the bowlful!
What makes panna cotta so special?
Panna cotta is different from other fancy, creamy desserts in that it’s not a custard.
Panna cotta literally means “cooked cream” in Italian, and it lacks the egg content that a custard or flan dish would have.
Personally, I love that the cream is the focal point rather than the egg-y flavor that’s present in custards. It gives it a much lighter, brighter flavor at the end.
And given that cream is one of my all-time favorite ingredients, it makes sense that I’m a huge fan of panna cotta.
Bright raspberry flavors
If possible, try to use fresh raspberries for the sauce. And then, simmer and create your raspberry sauce reduction on the stove top using some sprinkled raw sugar and freshly squeezed lemon to taste.
The lemon will really help break down the sugar content (along with the heat) and most importantly, it’ll make the raspberry flavors pop!
Note: if you want to add mint directly into the simmering sauce, rather than just as a garnish, you certainly can! You can infuse it with the whole mint leaves and then pull out the mint leaves before serving.
Getting the panna cotta texture just right
To give the panna cotta is velvety and slightly firm texture, it needs a setting agent to firm up the cooked cream. Cooking it, alone, won’t set the cream.
This is where the gelatin comes in. Gelatin is the secret, flavor-less ingredient that will allow you cream to set.
It’s important you get the proportions just right, though. Too much gelatin and you’ll have a hard cream jello (not too appealing). And too little, you’ll end up with an overly-giggly pot of cream (also not very appealing).
Here’s a helpful guideline to remember: you want one packet of gelatin for every 4 cups cream.
And today’s recipe, makes the math super simple for you, because we’re using a pint (that’s 2 cups) of heavy cream and a pint of half & half.
Easy-peasy.
Gelatin packets vs. bulk gelatin
You can use either! Just be sure to measure or weigh your gelatin.
1 packet of Knox gelatin measures out to roughly 8 grams. With the paper packaging, it’s about 9g, so I recommend rounding down to 8g.
Or, if you don’t have a baking scale, you can measure out about 2 and 1/2 teaspoons full. Try as much as possible to be precise! Many a times, I’ve goofed up my results by not watching my gelatin-to-liquid proportions carefully enough.
Top tip: be sure to bloom your gelatin first
If you add gelatin to a piping hot liquid, it has a tendency to clump up.
Because, I assume, you want a silky panna cotta and not a clumpy one, be sure to submerge your gelatin in some room temperature water first. A tablespoon or two works great.
Choose high-quality cream
The cream is really the foundation of the final flavor, so it helps to choose the best quality cream you can:
I’ve made this recipe with Organic Valley heavy cream and grass-fed half & half and had the best results. However, I’ve also made this with Costco’s Darigold heavy cream, and I’ll admit, it still tasted amazing.
Just work with what you can and but, whatever you do, don’t use previously frozen cream to make this recipe. I’ve learned this the hard way. Something about the freezing process de-homogenizes the cream and it won’t set up properly.
Silky Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce
- Total Time: 4 hours
Description
A silky, creamy dessert with a refreshing raspberry sauce and mint garnish.
Ingredients
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2 ½ teaspoons (1 packet) unflavored gelatin (about 8 g)
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2 tablespoons cold water (30 ml)
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2 cups heavy cream (480 ml)
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1 cup whole milk (240 ml)
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½ cup raw granulated sugar (100 g)
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1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract (optional) (7.5 ml)
For the Raspberry Sauce:
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1 ½ cups fresh or frozen raspberries (about 180 g)
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3 tablespoons granulated sugar (37 g)
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1 tablespoon lemon juice (15 ml)
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2 tablespoons water (30 ml)
Instructions
1. Prepare the Panna Cotta:
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let it sit for about 5 minutes to bloom.
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the heavy cream, whole milk, and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is hot but not boiling.
Remove the pan from heat. Add the bloomed gelatin to the hot cream mixture and whisk until completely dissolved.
Stir in the vanilla extract.
Pour the mixture into six small serving glasses or ramekins. Let them cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until set.
2. Make the Raspberry Sauce:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, and water.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries break down and the sauce thickens slightly, about 5–7 minutes.
Remove from heat. For a smoother sauce, strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds; for a more rustic sauce, leave it as is.
Let the sauce cool, then refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Assemble and Serve:
Once the panna cotta is set, spoon the chilled raspberry sauce over each serving.
Garnish with fresh mint leaves and extra raspberries if desired.
Serve immediately or keep chilled until serving time.
Notes
Be careful not to boil the cream mixture, as boiling can change the delicate texture.
Adjust the sweetness of the raspberry sauce depending on the tartness of your berries.
To unmold panna cotta from ramekins, briefly dip the bottom in warm water and invert onto a plate.
Be sure to bloom your gelatin first by mixing it with some room-temperature water
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Calories: 295 kcal
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 35 mg
- Fat: 23 g
- Saturated Fat: 14g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 85 mg
Panna cotta is perfectly sweet
Panna cotta with raspberry sauce is a beautiful reminder that desserts don’t have to be sickly sweet to taste sweet.
And they can be fancy, without being complicated, to feel special!
Chef’s notes:
There is nothing I would do to change up this recipe, but I plan on experimenting with some new panna cotta flavors (think: peach with notes of habanero, honey & chamomile, or cherry & licorice… I may even start practicing some flavor combos for the fall like anise & cardamom).
Or, how about a coconut milk panna cotta with pineapple sauce… we could call it a piña colada panna cotta?!
Until then, let me know what sounds good to you in the comments below.
I would love to hear how your recipe turned out!