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Italian Cuisine Expert and Food Blogger
Guido Pedrelli
Guido Pedrelli, the mastermind behind Nonna Box, has honed his culinary expertise for decades, inspired by family feasts in Emilia-Romagna. Mentored by his restaurateur nonna, he mastered Italian classics and furthered his skills with professional culinary studies in desserts and gelato making from Mec3. Today, he shares this rich legacy and authentic recipes through Nonna Box.
Full of aromatic sweet vanilla flavor and then topped with a fresh berry sauce, this easy authentic Panna Cotta recipe is so delicious. It’s a classic Italian elegant dessert that is rich and creamy, but not too sweet making it the perfect ending to any meal!
Panna cotta is one of those traditional Italian recipes that is a well known classic best described as a chilled custard like dessert that is thickened with gelatin instead of egg. It literally translates to “cooked cream” in Italian and is said to originate in the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy.
It’s a very simple recipe with just a few ingredients, yet full of intense sweet milky vanilla flavor with a silky texture. The custard is made by heating heavy cream, milk, and sugar together along with vanilla and then adding a bit of gelatin. Then the vanilla infused cream mixture is poured into small molds and put into the fridge to set.
In this panna cotta recipe, we are serving panna cotta with a fresh berry sauce, but it can also be served with caramel sauce or a chocolate sauce if you prefer. And because it only takes about 10 minutes to make, it’s a fantastic make-ahead dessert that you can prepare, chill, and then serve the next day.
Try other Italian dessert recipes:
Enjoy your panna cotta with one of these Italian drinks:
Both panna cotta and flan are custard desserts full of dairy and flavored with vanilla, but the biggest difference is that eggs are used in flan and it’s typically baked. Whereas, panna cotta is not baked and set using gelatin.
Panna cotta will keep in the fridge for about 4 days when covered with plastic wrap.
Yes! It freezes the best in smaller individual size portions. Just wrap each portion well with plastic wrap and the panna cotta will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. Then just thaw the portions out a few hours before or overnight in the fridge before serving.
To remove the panna cotta from the mold, run a sharp knife around the edge of the mold. Then dip the mold with the panna cotta still in it in hot water for about 5 to 10 seconds. Now, turn it over onto a dessert plate and give the top of the mold a few taps with the back of a spoon to release the panna cotta. If it still isn’t releasing, try dipping it in the water for a bit longer.
Yes, you can serve panna cotta in any dish you like. You do not have to use molds for this panna cotta recipe. It can be set and served in ramekins or in fancy dessert glasses. Just simply portion it out into the serving dishes of your choice, chill, and then top with the berry sauce before serving.
The best way to stop a skin from forming on the top of the custard is to allow it to cool for just a bit before pouring it into individual molds. Basically, if you wait a few minutes for the panna cotta mixture to cool in the saucepan it will form a skin. You can then remove that skin by passing the mixture through a fine mesh strainer and then pouring it into the molds to set.
The most common reason that your gelatin didn’t set is because the milk mixture was not hot enough when you added the bloomed gelatin. The gelatin has collagen proteins that tangle when heated and remain tangled when chilled which is what makes firm up and set.
One of the most popular is raspberry sauce, but strawberry sauce and blueberry sauce are just as delicious. A combination of different types of berries is also an option. You can even top your finished panna cotta with some shaved chocolate for an even more delicious dessert. Feel free to be as creative as you like.
Yes, just use 20 grams of agar agar powder in place of the gelatin and plant based dairy options in place of the cream and milk. I suggest using full fat coconut cream as a substitute for the heavy cream and your favorite plant based milk like almond milk or coconut milk as a substitute for the whole milk. The vegan version will set perfectly, but it may be a tad less firm than traditional panna cotta recipes, yet still amazingly delicious.
Panna Cotta is known as a traditional and classic Italian dessert and one would think it must be centuries old. In truth, it is only found in Italian recipe books starting in the 1960’s.
This did not stop the Region of Piedmont from selecting it as one of the “traditional foods of the region” when they published their official list in 2001.
The recipe they call for includes a few additions that are not found in other recipes (rum, marsala, and a layer of caramel much like a crème caramel) but it does show that the dish is regarded as being a long-standing part of the Italian food tradition.
Some theories attribute the dish to a Hungarian cook in the Langhe region in the early 20th century (as seen in The Oxford Companion to Food), while others suggest it comes from modifications to other milk or cream and gelatin based desserts. The name translates simply to “cooked cream” and there are many dishes built around a boiled or simmered cream base.
What we now know as Panna Cotta likely developed naturally out of this group of desserts as cooks looked for cleaner and lighter custard dishes that could pair with a wider range of flavors. Regardless of how it was developed, Panna Cotta is now a part of the traditional set of Italian desserts.