Panna Cotta with berry sauce

This panna cotta with berry sauce has such a lovely smooth texture. Not only does it taste good but it also is quite a showstopper. Serve it in tall glasses, topped with fresh berries and berry sauce.

Panna cotta is a much loved Italian dessert. It means cooked cream in Italian. It is out made from cream and has a jelly-like structure. There are many ways to infuse the cream. The most common one is with vanilla.

What is the right structure for panna cotta?

The pudding has a wobbly structure and a custard like consistency. Gelatine gives it a jelly like structure. Gelatine can be bought in powder form or as sheets. Soak the sheets in cold water before adding it to the warm mixture. Never allow the gelatine to boil in the mixture. For the right structure, allow the pudding to just about set. It should still be able to hold it’s form.

These are the sheets that I normally use.

https://www.oetker.nl/nl-nl/onze-producten/bakingredienten/gelatine

Berry sauce

Cape Goose berries reminds me of my childhood in South Africa. So I just had to get them when I saw them in the supermarket. In this recipe I opted to use blueberries, red berries and strawberries to make the sauce. And topped it off with gooseberries to give a lovely pop of colour. Feel free to use whatever berries you like, to make the sauce. Raspberries and blackberries are great alternatives.

Panna cotta is a great dish to use as a showstopper at your next dinner party. You don’t need to be an artist to assemble it. Pour it in long stemmed glasses and decorate with fresh berries. Alternatively, make them in mould sculptures to get more creative. Have fun and play around with it and impress your guests with your artsy skills.

Print Recipe

Panna Cotta

Dessert – Italian

By Galley of Gail – Serves: 4

Prep Time: 15min – Cooking Time: 5min – Total Time: 40min

A delicious, creamy panna cotta that is also a feast for the eyes.

Ingredients

• 4 gelatine sheets
• 250 ml cream
• 250g cream cheese
• 150g sugar
• 80ml milk
• 1 vanilla pod
• Sauce
• 100g mixed berries
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 rooibos teabag
• 50ml water
• fresh berries and mint to garnish

Instructions

1

1. Soak gelatine sheets in some water until it becomes soft.

2

2. Slice the vanilla pod open and scrape out the paste on the inside.

3

3. In a saucepan, heat the cream, cream cheese, milk, vanilla pod, vanilla paste and sugar until the sugar has dissolved.

4

4. Remove the vanilla pod and stir in the gelatine sheets one by one.

5

5. Pour the mixture into glasses and refrigerate to set for about an hour.

6

Berry Sauce

7

1. Heat all the ingredients in a saucepan until the berries are soft.

8

2. Remove the teabag and stick cinnamon.

9

3. Puree the mixture

10

4. Divide the mixture of the panna cotta and decorate with berries and mint.

Notes

Feel free to use any mixture of berries.