The Best Recipe for Panna Cotta

Creamy and light, this recipe for Panna Cotta is a simple, elegant dessert. A classic Italian dessert, it has only five ingredients and comes together quickly and simply.

Who doesn’t love a classic panna cotta? It’s simple but beautiful. Lightly sweetened cream is thickened with gelatin and can be served with a variety of flavorings and toppings.

There are some helpful tips and guidelines later in the post that are helpful if you’ve never worked with gelatin before. It’s a fairly simple process, but there are a few things you need to know to have successful panna cotta.

What is Panna Cotta?

Panna Cotta is a cream-based, custard-like dessert. However, custards like pastry cream, creme brulee, flan, and pudding, are thickened with eggs. Panna cotta is thickened with plain gelatin, which makes it a lighter, less rich dessert.

Originating in Italy, panna cotta literally means “cooked cream.” However, you aren’t going to cook anything for very long–you only need to warm some of it for long enough to dissolve the sugar, and then the gelatin.

This panna cotta recipe is flavored with a touch of vanilla. However, some recipes don’t even call for that and are just sweetened cream, so you can decide what you want to do!

What is Panna Cotta Made Of?

This recipe for panna cotta has very simple ingredients. They are:

• Whipping cream
• Plain Gelatin–this recipe uses powdered gelatin, which is the most common form to buy in the USA.
• Water– it needs to be cold for the gelatin to set properly.
• Vanilla bean extract and a little bit of paste–see the notes and tips section of this post

Tools and Equipment

• A small bowl
• A small pot
• A large spoon or ladle
• Five 8 oz. ramekins
• Liquid measuring cup
• Measuring spoons

How to Make Panna Cotta

• Begin by assembling and measuring out all of your ingredients and tools.
• Pour 1/4 cup of cold water into the small bowl.
• Sprinkle the gelatin over the top of it, then stir it in so all of the gelatin is in the liquid, dissolving.
• After about 5 minutes, the gelatin will have set into a thick, grainy-looking consistency. {See the section below for more information on how to set gelatin}

• While the gelatin is setting, combine 1/2 cup of the whipping cream and 1/3 cup sugar in a small pot.
• Heat the cream and sugar until it is steaming and the sugar has dissolved. It should be around 140°F. Allow it to cool if it’s too warm.
• Add the set gelatin to the warm cream and whisk it in until it’s completely dissolved.

• Pour in the two cups of cream and vanilla bean extract or paste and whisk until it’s well combined.
• Ladle the panna cotta mixture into the ramekins, then set them in the refrigerator.
• Let the panna cotta chill for at least 6 hours, or until it’s set.

How to Set Gelatin

Panna cotta is set completely with gelatin, so knowing how to set it can be helpful.

• First, place cold water in a small bowl.
• Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and avoid dumping it in one spot–this can cause clumps that are hard to dissolve.
• Allow the gelatin to sit for 5 minutes. It will have a grainy, slightly lumpy appearance, but still be fairly soft. It will become thicker as it sits, which is fine for the panna cotta.
• Stir the set gelatin into the warm cream and sugar. Makes sure that it’s not too hot, as gelatin begins to break down (or denature) around 200°F.
• Whisk until the gelatin is completely dissolved and you can’t see any grains of it in the liquid.
• Continue with the rest of the panna cotta recipe.
• Gelatin won’t set until it becomes cold, though it will cause some thickening at room temperature.

How to Serve Panna Cotta

• You can serve the panna cotta in the ramekins, or unmold them and serve them on a plate.
• If you wish to unmold the panna cotta, run the tip of a sharp knife around the edge.
• Run warm water over the bottom of the ramekin for about a minute, keeping the water off the panna cotta.
• Place a small plate over the ramekin and gently shake it. If the panna cotta does not slide out onto the plate, remove the plate and run warm water over it for a few more seconds until it does.

Toppings for Panna Cotta

While panna cotta is delicious on its own, there are lots of toppings that complement and elevate it.

• Fresh berries– blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries–they’re all delicious!
• Fruit Sauces–something like this strawberry syrup would be delicious drizzled over the top.
• Toasted almonds sprinkled over the top.
• Chopped chocolate or chocolate sauce.
• Chopped mango or passionfruit.

Recipe Tips and Notes

• Panna cotta will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator. Cover each ramekin with a bit of plastic wrap to keep it from drying out on top.
• I recommend using vanilla extract to flavor the panna cotta, as it will keep it as creamy and white and possible. Adding a touch of vanilla bean paste (or even scraping a bit of the inside of a vanilla bean) adds the pretty little black flecks. But if you add too much vanilla bean paste, it sinks to the bottom of the ramekin and will leave a layer of flecks that look peppery.

Print