Panna cotta is a classic Italian dessert from the Piedmont region in northern Italy, made with cream, sugar, gelatin, and vanilla, resulting in a silky, custard-like treat. It literally means, “cooked cream” in Italian, originates and has been enjoyed for centuries as a simple yet elegant dessert.
It has the wow factor we always talk about in hospitality. And yes, your kids will absolutely love them. They are super easy to make, very versatile and are gluten free too, a win-win situation in my humble opinion.
You can use any flavors, but keep in mind if you use chocolate, it will set harder. And keep in mind that certain fruits with a lot of acidity can split your dairy up a little bit (pinnacle, kiwi, lemons, etc). My favorite one? The traditional ones: cream, sugar and great vanilla.
After a few cooking classes with kids and teenagers their feedback was that they love how easy it is and at the same time it has that “restaurant quality” factor. Trust me, if you have never made panna cottas at home you will love them.
Easy panna cottas
PANNA cotta is a classic Italian dessert from the Piedmont region in northern Italy. Made with cream, sugar, gelatine, and vanilla, it results in a silky, custard-like treat. It literally means “cooked cream” in Italian and has been enjoyed for centuries as a simple yet elegant dessert.
It has that wow factor we always talk about in hospitality, and your kids will absolutely love it. Panna cottas are super easy to make, very versatile, and gluten-free—a win-win situation in my book.
You can use any flavours, but keep in mind that if you use chocolate, it will set harder. Also be aware that fruits with high acidity (pineapple, kiwi, lemons, etc.) can split the dairy. My favourite? The traditional version: cream, sugar, and great vanilla.
After hosting a few cooking classes with kids and teenagers, their feedback was that they loved how easy it is to make while still delivering that “restaurant-quality” finish. Trust me, if you have never made panna cottas at home, you are going to love them.
Easy panna cottas
Ingredients:
500ml fresh cream
60g sugar
1 vanilla bean
3 sheets gelatine
For the sauce:
250g fresh raspberries
60g sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Method:
- Soak the gelatine sheets in a bowl of cold water for 5 to 10 minutes to soften.
- Pour the fresh cream into a small saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife, and add both the seeds and pod to the cream.
- Add the sugar. Stir over low heat—without letting it boil—for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and discard the vanilla bean pod.
- Squeeze the softened gelatine sheets gently with your hands to remove excess water, then submerge them in the hot cream. Whisk until the gelatine is completely dissolved.
- Pour the mixture into glasses or ramekins and let cool slightly before placing in the fridge. Chill for at least 5 hours to set.
(Note: If you want a lighter version, use half milk and half cream.)
For the sauce:
- Combine raspberries, lemon juice, and sugar in a blender; process until smooth.
- Pass the raspberry mixture through a fine strainer into a small saucepan.
- Cook over very low heat for about 5 minutes until the sugar is fully dissolved.
- Allow to cool in the refrigerator. Before serving, spoon the raspberry sauce over the set panna cotta and top with whole raspberries to decorate.