Dessert Classics - Panna Cotta

Panna cotta is a common and very popular Italian dessert. For people who go to Italian restaurants it is a must have in the menu. But most importantly, it is the easiest thing to prepare!

It's creamy but not too sweet. It's very smooth and goes very well with different toppings, like jam, chocolate or caramel sauce.

INGREDIENTS (4 servings)
500g light cream
1 vanilla pod
80g sugar
8g gelatin foils
Sauce: raspberries, chocolate, caramel...

💡 tip:
When we say light cream, we also refer to: Panna fresca in Italian, whipping cream in English, Schlagsahne in German.

Vanilla pod: found usually in the baking section of supermarkets. It is an expensive product, but really worth its price. Alternatively also essences and flavoured sugar are sold, but it is really not the same.

Drench sauce: this is really according to the personal preference. We would recommend to have several sauces to pair with the panna cotta and let your guests choose. For this recipe we got a ready-made sauce from Schwartau Dessert Sauce.

PREPARATION

Soak the gelatin in cold water to soften.
Open the vanilla pod and scrape out the vanilla seeds.

Add 80g of sugar, vanilla seeds and vanilla shell to 500g of light cream. Simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly.
As soon as it starts bubbling turn off the heat and remove from the fire.
Add the softened gelatin and stir until melted. In this step there is no need to squeeze the gelatin to remove excess water.

Pour into the moulds. Cool at room temperature and refrigerate for 5 hours.

After 5 hours, it’s time to see if our magic worked out. Prepare a bowl of hot water and scald the mould to help release it quickly. If you are using a thick mould (such as a baking ceramic cup), use a knife to separate the custard from the walls of the mould, then scald the bottom of the mould with hot water.

Drizzle with your favorite sauce and you're ready to go!