Panna Cotta Recipe with Raspberry Sauce (2024)

March 6th, 2013 | 8 Comments

This panna cotta recipe is an Italian classic. It’s a make-ahead, impressive dessert that’s not only delicious, but so easy to make.

I wanted to make this panna cotta recipe for an event last month. It looked really lovely, so it was my inspiration for this light and super simple dessert.

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In the US, we use powdered gelatin, so I substituted this for the sheet gelatin she used in her recipe. and I also used a real vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract. Although it’s made with cream, panna cotta is refreshingly light!

You may also enjoy this Crème Brûlée recipe, too.

What is Panna Cotta?

Literally translated from Italian, “panna cotta” means “cooked cream”. That’s what this dessert is: a sweetened, cooked cream with added flavor and a little gelatin.

This no-bake dessert is so easy, it actually shouldn’t be classified as cooking, and everyone will be impressed! A little raspberry (or your choice of fruit) sauce, and you’re golden! (Manu used passion fruit in her recipe, and a raspberry coulis with this other white chocolate panna cotta recipe.)

Panna Cotta Recipe with Raspberry Sauce

Inspired by Manu’s Menu serves 6

FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW

Ingredients

• 12 oz heavy whipping cream(organic, with no added ingredients if you can find it)
• 2 oz milk
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 whole vanilla bean, split (or 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste)
• 3/4 to 1 tsp gelatin (powder)
• (water, to soften gelatin)

Raspberry sauce

• 1 cup (about 4 oz) fresh or frozen raspberries
• 2 Tbsp sugar

Directions

Put the gelatin in a small bowl with 2 teaspoons, or so, of water to dissolve. Place the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla bean in a medium sized pot over low heat, then add the softened gelatin and stir.

Heat until the gelatin is completely dissolved, then remove from heat and take out the vanilla bean. Pour into moulds, ramekins, or small containers which have been rinsed with water.

Refrigerate to set for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

Meanwhile, continue with the next part of this panna cotta recipe and make the raspberry sauce. Place the berries and sugar in a small pot, over medium high heat for about 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and taste for sweetness, adding more sugar if desired. Press through a sieve to remove seeds, and keep sauce to serve on/with the vanilla panna cotta.

Serve the Creamy Italian Dessert

When ready to serve, unmold each vanilla panna cotta onto a serving plate, and drizzle the raspberry syrup on top or as desired. If you are want to do the same decor on the plate as I did, put the syrup in aplastic condiment bottle and make swirls on the plate.

If you don’t have gelatin, you could try making posset, a similar recipe that’s British instead of Italian. My friend Cynthia from What a Girl Eats has a lovely recipe. I hope you enjoy this simple panna cotta recipe!

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