Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Strawberry Gelée

Creamy, vanilla bean panna cotta topped with strawberry sauce is the perfect party dessert!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Servings servings

Calories 360kcal

Author Elizabeth Marek

Ingredients

Strawberry Gelée

1000 grams strawberries fresh or frozen
200 grams sugar
8 grams sheet gelatin
48 Grams water

Vanilla Panna Cotta

225 grams heavy whipping cream
100 grams buttermilk
45 grams sugar
1 whole vanilla bean
8 grams sheet gelatin
48 Grams water

Instructions

Preparing the Strawberry Gelée

First, you will begin by preparing the strawberry juice to make the jelly. To do this, combine the strawberries and the sugar together in a medium-sized bowl. Either frozen or fresh strawberries will work for this.
Then, wrap the top of the bowl with plastic wrap to create a steam environment in the bowl. This is to extract as much juice and flavor from the berries as possible without losing moisture.
Place the bowl on a double boiler and let it cook for 1 hour over medium heat. Once your berries have reduced, the berries should appear to be swimming in their own juice.
Next, after the berries have reduced you will strain the berries over a chinois lined with a cheesecloth or a paper towel. This will remove all of the berry fibers and leave a beautiful, clear red liquid.

Making the Panna Cotta

In a bowl, measure 6 times the amount of cool water as gelatin. So for 8 grams of gelatin, you will need 48 grams of water. Place the sheets of gelatin in the water one at a time while making sure that they do not stick together. Let them bloom while you prepare the cream. *See the notes section below if you want to use powdered gelatin.
Next, using a paring knife, split your vanilla bean and scrape the seeds from the pod. You will want to keep the pod so you can steep it in your cream.
Then, in a sauce pan, combine your heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla bean (both the seeds and the pod).
Heat the mixture over medium heat until it is boiling.
Once the mixture is boiling, turn off the heat. Squeeze out the excess water from your bloomed gelatin sheets and then add them to the hot cream mixture. Stir until they are combined and the gelatin is melted.
Strain the mixture through a fine, mesh strainer or a chinois into a bowl.
Finally, add in your buttermilk and stir until they are combined.

Assembling the Panna Cotta Dessert Glasses

Prepare your serving glasses or containers. PRO TIP: We used water to decide what angle we wanted our panna cotta to set at, and then cleaned and dried the glasses to get them ready for the panna cotta to be poured into. Make sure they are stable so they can be moved to the refrigerator carefully without spilling or sloshing.
Slowly pour your panna cotta into the glasses to your desired volume. We chose to fill ours with about 6 ounces each.
Place the panna cotta in the fridge to completely set (it could take 5-6 hours). It should be firm with no movement when you gently tilt or shake the glass.
Now, you will bloom your gelatin sheets for the strawberry jelly. In a bowl, measure 6 times the amount of cool water as gelatin. So for 8 grams of gelatin you will need 48 grams of water.
Using a scale, measure 500 grams of the strawberry juice in a pourable container.
Place the sheets of gelatin in the cool water one at a time while making sure they are not stuck together. Let them bloom for about 5 minutes.
Next, squeeze the excess water from the gelatin sheets and then add them to the strawberry liquid. The juice should still be warm enough to melt the gelatin once added and mixed.
Gently stir them until they are combined. You do not want to incorporate too many bubbles. Allow them to cool to about 70ºF (21ºC).
Stand the set panna cotta glasses upright and then add sliced strawberries to the empty void in the glass to your desired height.
Next, slowly pour the jelly mix over the strawberries until the volume matches the level of the panna cotta.
Then, carefully place the panna cotta glasses back into the fridge for another 2 hours until the strawberry jelly is set.
Panna cotta is either served chilled or a room temperature. Whatever you prefer! (Optional) Garnish with edible gold and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Important Things To Note Before You Start

You can make this a dairy-free recipe by replacing the cream with almond milk or coconut milk.
If you do not have gelatin sheets you can use powdered gelatin. Mix together 10 grams of powdered gelatin and 50 grams of cold water and let it bloom for 5 minutes (one each for the panna cotta and one for the strawberry gelee).
Need a vegetarian substitute for gelatin? You can use agar-agar.
Once you add the gelatin to your cream, you do not want to boil the liquid again. Why? Because it will cause the cream and the gelatin to separate.
Need to make this for a party? You can make and set your panna cotta for up to 7 days in the refrigerator. Just be sure to not add in any strawberry or sauce until a few hours before you're ready to serve it.
If you want an easier substitute for the strawberry concentrate, check out my strawberry reduction recipe.

Nutrition