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This beautiful and luxurious vanilla panna cotta is made with just four simple ingredients. It’s ultra smooth and rich with a creamy vanilla taste.
What is panna cotta?
Panna cotta is an Italian dessert meaning “cooked cream”. It’s a sweetened cream dessert thickened with gelatin. I think of it as cream jello, and it tastes like vanilla ice cream according to my kids.
What I love about this recipe from Pretty. Simple. Sweet is that it’s so easy. As I mentioned, it’s just four ingredients: cream, gelatin, sugar, and vanilla. You start by soaking the gelatin in some water. Meanwhile, you heat the cream with the sugar until dissolved. Then you stir in the bloomed gelatin and vanilla, pour into ramekins, and chill until set – that’s it! It’s a great make-ahead dessert because you can prepare it the morning of or the day before you plan to serve. You can keep things simple and just enjoy it straight out of the ramekin or if you want to get a little fancier, you can unmold the panna cotta onto a serving plate.
How to unmold the panna cotta:
Dip the ramekin into a bowl of hot water, then run a thin knife along the edges. Invert the ramekin onto a plate, give it a little shake to loosen, and it should fall nicely onto the plate.
Why this recipe works:
A common problem when making panna cotta is separation of the milk and cream into lighter and heavier fat layers. By using just cream in this recipe, not only does it make it richer and more flavorful, it lowers the risk of that happening. Another common problem is the panna cotta not setting because the gelatin did not completely dissolve or was boiled thereby destroying it thickening ability. With this recipe, you soften the gelatin in water first, making it easier to dissolve in the warm cream. You also don’t heat the gelatin, so you don’t run the risk of boiling it. (technical source: The Kitchn)
This panna cotta has a silky melt-in-your-mouth texture. The taste is lightly sweet with a fresh vanilla cream finish. So if you are looking for an easy elegant dessert that you can make ahead of time, this is it! Not only is this panna cotta creamy-dreamy good, but it looks just as beautiful as it tastes.
Vanilla Panna Cotta
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
- Author: Lily Ernst
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 20 min
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: dessert
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
This beautiful and luxurious vanilla panna cotta is made with just four simple ingredients. It’s ultra smooth and rich with a creamy vanilla taste.
Ingredients
- 2 & 1/4 tsp (7g) unflavored powdered gelatin
- 1/4 cup (60ml) cold water
- 2 cups (480ml) heavy cream
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp (5ml) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Spray 4 ramekins with non-stick cooking spray. Then use a paper towel to wipe most of the oil, leaving only a light residue.
Place the gelatin in a small bowl. Pour the water over top and let stand for 5-10 minutes to soften.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat the cream and sugar over medium heat, whisking frequently to dissolve the sugar. As soon as you see tiny bubbles appear around the edge and steam coming off the surface, remove from heat.
Quickly whisk in the gelatin until completely dissolved (rub a bit of the cream between your fingers to make sure it’s smooth). Then str in the vanilla.
Pour the cream mixture into the 4 prepared ramekins. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until completely set.
- When ready to serve, dip each ramekin, 1 at a time, into a bowl of hot water for 5 seconds. Run a thin knife around the sides of the ramekin to separate the top edge of the panna cotta. Invert it onto the center of a small plate and shake it gently to help release it. If it does not come out, repeat the water bath for 3 seconds. You can also serve it straight out of the ramekins if you want to keep it simple.
- Serve with fresh fruit or fruit preserve if desired.
Notes
Panna cotta can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
No-Bake Desserts
by Lily Ernst on Mar 8, 2019 (updated Jan 28, 2023)
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12 comments on “Vanilla Panna Cotta”
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tanya —Reply
HI!! I have been loving your blog (especially the chocolate chip muffins!)
I was wondering if there’s any way to make this dairy free?!Lily Ernst —Reply
Thank you and yes, you can use coconut cream instead of heavy cream. It will change the taste of course, but if you are coconut fan, it will be great. Enjoy!
Nisha —Reply
Hi
I am vegetarian can we use veg gelatin.Lily Ernst —Reply
Yes, you can:) Enjoy!
Paula Almeida —Reply
Tried Panna Cotta and it came out very well although I used cups rather than moulds. It’s far easier than I thought, probably the easiest dessert ever. Pity I cannot post the photo.
Lily Ernst —Reply
Thank you for your kind words, Paula, and feel free to tag me on Instagram or email lily@littlesweetbaker.com if you would like to share a photo:)
Zahra —Reply
I want to try to make this tonight but I dont have ramekins. Can i just make them in plastic or ceramic dessert bowls and serve it in that itself? Please let me know=)
Lily Ernst —Reply
Yes, you can use any kind of small bowls and serve it in the bowls itself. I hope you enjoy the panna cotta!
EDY LORENZO —
delicious recipe; just perfect!! I served them in martini glasses!!! they look beautiful and elegant!!!
a real success!!!Lily Ernst —
Thank you for your kind words and great idea with the martini glasses!
Chelsea —Reply
I love panna cotta, but didn’t realize it was so simple to make at home. I just topped it with some sweetened strawberries and it was delicious. Thanks for the recipe. Will be definitely making again!
Lily Ernst —Reply
Great to hear, Chelsea! You’re very welcome and thank you for your lovely comment:)
