This is the first time I’ve ever made panna cotta and I was honestly so happy with the results. I could have made a plain, traditional vanilla flavoured dessert but I decided I would wait til I hate vanilla bean paste to use instead of just vanilla extract. I like the look of creamy white panna cotta, but for a vanilla flavoured one I would like to see little speckles of vanilla bean in it.
So I went ahead and melted a block of Milkybar into this cream mixture, omitting any vanilla. Wow, if I keep thickened cream in the fridge all the time it’s seriously so hard to imagine not making this weekly! It was lovely! Not too sweet, and the mint and strawberry complemented the light white chocolate taste perfectly!
It’s a really simple dessert and so easy to make, and it looks so elegant. I’d probably end up paying quite a bit if I ordered this at a restaurant. My entire family loved this (which was unfortunate in that, I only got to eat one serve haha). My mum and dad both really liked this dessert, and they’re two older Bengali people that rarely enjoy non-Desi sweets. So that really says something to me.
Ingredients:
- 600ml thickened cream
- 180g pkt white chocolate, broken into small pieces (I used Milkybar)
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2/3 cup caster sugar
- 2 packets of vegetarian jel-it-in OR 3 teaspoons powdered gelatine
- 500 ml cold water OR 2 tablespoons of boiling water
- Strawberry slices (optional for garnish)
- Mint leaves (optional for garnish)
Method:
- Place cream, chocolate, milk and caster sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.
- If you are using vegetarian jel-it-in now is the time to dissolve two sachets in 500 ml of water and stir to dissolve the powder. If you are using normal gelatine powder then place the boiling water in a heatproof bowl, and whisk the powder until lumps dissolve. Set aside for three minutes.
- Stir the vegetarian gelatine/regular gelatine into the cream mixture swiftly, and take off heat.
- Pour the cream mixture into your prepared ramekins. I served mine in six dessert cups, but you can probably fill around 8 x 150ml capacity dishes.
- Cover each dish with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 6 hour or overnight.
- Serve with sliced strawberries and mint leaves.
Notes:
- This recipe is probably not ideal for using with a dariole mould and turning upside down. My finished product with the jel-it-in held it’s shape but was not very firm.
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