Fancy a change from the classic end-of-year desserts? Today, I’m offering you a panna cotta. It’s an ultra easy dessert, quick to prepare and always delicious. And without seeming like much, it makes quite an impression on the table.
To be honest, I wasn’t a fan at first. I had tasted several panna cottas whose texture I didn’t like very much. Too firm, too gelatinous. In short, not very appealing. But a few months ago, I tasted a truly delicious one. The texture was just right: soft, melting, not rubbery. A revelation! Of course I asked for the recipe, which I’m happy to share here.
What is panna cotta?
Panna cotta is a dessert originating from Piedmont, in northern Italy. Its name simply means “cooked cream”. It’s a sweetened cream, gently heated with a little gelatine (or agar-agar) before being left to set in the fridge. The basic recipe is very simple: cream, sugar, gelling agent, and often a little vanilla. It’s served well chilled, often with a fruit coulis or a caramel.
Even though this dessert became popular fairly late, probably at the beginning of the 20th century, similar preparations based on set cream have existed for a long time. Back then, fish bones were sometimes used to set the cream (yes, it’s a bit strange!), but thankfully something more practical has been found since. Today, panna cotta is known all over the world. And its success comes above all from its soft, melting texture and its great simplicity.
Which coulis to serve with panna cotta?
What’s great about panna cotta is that you can pair it with lots of different flavours. Here, I chose a mango passion fruit coulis. I had mango purée and passion fruit juice to hand, so I simply blended them together. The result is nicely fruity, slightly tangy, and it goes really well with the softness of the cream.
But you can really vary it depending on the season and what you have in your kitchen. In summer, red berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries) work wonderfully. You can blend them as they are or lightly stew them with a little sugar (that’s what I do). In autumn or winter, a pear or apple compote, with a little cinnamon, is also delicious. An orange or clementine coulis can also bring a lovely fresh touch. And if you’re more team chocolate, a dark chocolate sauce or a salted butter caramel also go very well with panna cotta.
Ingredients & method
2 components · Full recipe
Vanilla Panna Cotta
Ingredients
- 250 g (8.8 oz) milk
- 250 g (8.8 oz) full-fat whipping cream
- 50 g (1.8 oz) sugar
- 1 organic Madagascar vanilla pod (½ pod may be enough)
- 5 g (0.2 oz) leaf gelatine (= 2½ sheets)
Method
1
Soak the gelatine sheets in very cold water.
2
Place the cream, milk, sugar and split and scraped vanilla pod in a saucepan and heat gently until it comes to the boil.
3
Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the well-squeezed gelatine. Stir to dissolve.
4
Pour into verrines, making sure to leave a little room at the top for the coulis.
5
Leave to cool, then refrigerate for several hours (when I’m in a hurry, I sometimes put them in the freezer for a little while).
Mango Passion Coulis
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) mango purée
- 100 g (3.5 oz) passion fruit juice
- 10 g (0.4 oz) sugar
- a dash of lime juice
Method
1
In a saucepan, heat the fruit purées with the sugar until the sugar has fully dissolved.
2
Off the heat, add a dash of lime juice, then leave to cool.
3
Pour the mango passion coulis over the panna cottas once the cream has set, and return to the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.
Gallery
