Strawberry Panna Cotta 

One of the most well-known Italian desserts on earth is Strawberry Panna Cotta, but despite how simple it is to make at home, many people prefer to order it from a restaurant. Try this handmade strawberry coulis-topped, vanilla-flavored panna cotta recipe, and you’ll never order it off a menu again!

The strawberry panna cotta recipe is a great classic that never goes out of fashion and that everyone always likes. A delicate, fragrant and delicious spoon dessert that teases adults and children. The panna cotta is in fact a dessert that can be easily made at home among the most appreciated and loved, not only in Italy but is also well known abroad.

Its elegant appearance makes it special and often in fact it is found in the dessert cart in restaurants, also because being very versatile it can be flavored as you see fit. In this case we used strawberries that are perfect in the spring season, but if you want you can use the fruit you like best, or decorate the basic panna cotta with toppings to your favorite taste. As an alternative to strawberry if you want to preserve this color you can use berries for example. It seems to have been born in the Langhe in Piedmont, at the beginning of the '900 and is actually probable given the abundance of pastures and milk consequently in those areas.

The strawberry panna cotta is a creamy sweet and so simple to prepare, you do not need great pastry skills to make it, indeed it is a very clever dessert because you can prepare it well in advance and then bring to the table at the appropriate time. You can prepare a large one and then cut it into slices or make it as in this case single portion that is certainly more refined. This dessert can be kept safely in the refrigerator for several days, for this reason if you have a dinner or lunch to organize, it can be useful as an idea because you can anticipate and dedicate yourself to something else. Choose strawberries when they are in season and the final taste will benefit a lot. Try this delicious recipe and it will also become your workhorse!

Ingredients

90 grams White sugar 3oz

1 tbsp Vanilla Essence

300 ml Full fat cream 1 ¼ cup

3 Gelatin leaves

1 Bowl Room temp water

For the topping:

50 grams White sugar 1.8oz

250 grams Strawberries 9oz. Berries or any fruit of your choice

2 tbps Water

Preparation

Place the gelatin leaves in a bowl of room temperature water. Make sure they are emerged into the water and leave them to soften for 5-7 minutes. While the gelatin is melting, put a small saucepan on the stove and add the cream. Warm it up at a low-medium temperature making sure it does not boil. When the cream has been warming up for around 2 minutes, add the sugar and stir through gently using a spatula before adding the vanilla essence (or your choice of flavor – or spirit). Remove the saucepan from the stove once you start to see the small bubbles appear and leave to the side. For this panna cotta recipe, it’s important to now pick up the gelatin leaves from the bowl – which should now be soft – and squeeze all the excess water out and drop them straight into the hot cream and keep stirring so that it dissolves well.

How to make the strawberry topping

Remove the green part of the strawberry and cut in half, and then in half again. Put a small saucepan on your stove at a medium heat and place the strawberries inside before adding the sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Once the sugar starts to melt, mix the strawberries using a spatula and help any excess sugar drop into the water so that you can no longer see it. Leave to simmer for no longer than 5 minutes and they will soften and release quite a lot of liquid.

Pour the strawberry mixture into a blender and blend until the strawberries have disappeared but don’t blend for too long as you want the sauce to remain thick in texture. Once you are sure there are no lumps and your gelatin has disappeared, pour the panna cotta into silicone molds or glasses (to serve). Use small portions as it is quite rich! Cover the molds or panna cotta with plastic wrap, making sure no air gets inside and place in the fridge for a minimum 4hr – or overnight to ensure the result is nice and dense. Transfer it into a glass or a utensil that has a pouring spout and cover with plastic wrap. Once cooled, leave it in the fridge until the panna cotta is ready.