This Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta recipe is an Italian dessert of sweetened cream and flavored with vanilla beans and strawberries!
I’ve always considered Panna Cotta to be one of those fancy desserts that you can only get a restaurants. You know, like crème brûlée or decadent chocolate mousse.
Did you know that Panna Cotta is Italian for “cooked cream”?
I truly had no idea how easy it is to make this vanilla panna cotta with strawberries at home. I searched all over the web for an “authentic” recipe, thinking that there was no way a true Panna Cotta recipe called for gelatin. Alas, I stand corrected!
This is the perfect dessert to serve to company.
You can make it in round cups (like I have) and serve them as-is, or you can turn them out onto a plate as a mold.
You could also make these in wine glasses or martini glasses so you could see through to the pretty strawberries.
Make this strawberry panna cotta recipe the night before you have company over and your dessert dish will be taken care of!
Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Strawberries Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 envelope of unflavored gelatin - about 1 tablespoon – I used the Knox brand
- 2 Tbsp. of cold water
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Caviar from one vanilla bean - or 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 6 large strawberries - sliced
Instructions
- In your smallest saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin powder over the 2 Tbsp. of cold water and let it stand for about a minute to soften. Heat the mixture over low heat. Once the gelatin is dissolved, remove the pan from heat and let it stand.
- In a large saucepan, bring the sugar, cream, vanilla caviar, and half-and-half to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring constantly so the bottom doesn’t burn.
- Take the pan off heat and pour in the gelatin mixture.
- Divide the cream mixture into six dishes (each needs to hold 2/3 cup) and cool until they reach room temperature. Divide the sliced strawberries evenly among the six dishes.
- Chill the panna cotta, covered, overnight or for at least four hours.
- Serve as-is, or to remove the panna cotta molds onto a plate, dip the ramekins one at a time into a bowl of hot water for about three seconds. Then run a thin knife around the inside edge of each dish and invert it onto the center of a small plate.
Nutrition
