Panna cotta

 

What is panna cotta?

Here is another of Momma Videccia's wonderful Italian desserts. She turned me onto Panna cotta as a delightful Italian classic—think of it as a creamy, chilled custard thickened with gelatin instead of eggs.

Originating from Piedmont, this simple dessert bursts with rich vanilla flavor and smooth texture. Just heat cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla before adding gelatin; then chill in molds.

Pair it with fresh berry sauce for a refreshing touch!

Enjoy making this easy treat ahead of time!

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups heavy cream

1/2 cup of whole milk

½ cup of granulated sugar

2 Tbsp vanilla extract

1-1/2 of gelatin or 4 sheets alternatively  

1-1/2 cups of berries

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

Instructions

To start, sprinkle 8 tablespoons of cold water over the gelatin in a shallow bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes to soften without stirring.

In a saucepan, combine heavy cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Heat gently until simmering and sugar dissolves.

Remove from heat and whisk in the gelatin immediately. Pour into molds and chill for at least 5 hours or overnight to set. To start the berry sauce, add 1 and a half cups of your berry of choice (raspberry, strawberry, or even mango) to a saucepan along with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Then bring it to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes or until the berries are soft and the sugar is fully dissolved.

Blend the cooked berry mixture into a puree using a blender or an immersion blender.

Strain the berry sauce with a fine mesh sieve and allow it to completely cool.

To serve, you can leave the panna cotta in the molds and top with the fresh berry sauce. Or, you can pop them out of the molds by dipping each one individually into very hot water for about 5 seconds, then turning each one over onto the serving dishes, and tapping the molds with the back of a spoon to release the panna cotta. Then top with the berry sauce and more fresh berries to serve.

 

Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of experience in writing with 12 of those years in the online content sphere. Author of 5 books and a Graduate with an Associate of Arts from Phoenix University in Business Management, then a degree. Mass Communication and Cyber Analysis from Phoenix University, then on to Walden University for her master’s in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology. Her work portfolio includes coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist in her spare time, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pen and ink, Gouche, and pastels. As a political operative having worked on over 300 campaigns during her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 6 blogs that range from art to life coaching, to food, to writing, and opinion or history pieces each week.