PANNA COTTA with strawberries - so easy and delicious!

You guys are going to love today's panna cotta recipe that is silky smooth, lusciously creamy, and unbelievably good. It's also shockingly easy to make and virtually foolproof, and who doesn't love that? This elegant Italian dessert is one of my personal favorites, and I've enjoyed many versions throughout Italy. But today we're going with the classic panna cotta, and I've topped it with some macerated strawberries for one elegant and easy dessert. All right, let's dive in. You've got to love dessert recipes that only require a handful of ingredients. And while I'm using dairy milk and cream today for a classic panna cotta, I do have several dairy-free panna cotta recipes on my website if you're interested. The first ingredient that I want to highlight is the gelatin, and I want to be very clear that gelatin is not the same as collagen. As collagen has grown in popularity, some people mistakenly think they're the same thing, and they're not. Collagen does not firm up like gelatin does, so if you try using that, you're going to have a very liquidy panna cotta. Add two tablespoons of water to a wide bowl or a small rimmed plate, and then sprinkle one tablespoon of gelatin on top. This is called blooming the gelatin, and what you want is for the gelatin to absorb into the water. But if you find that some of the gelatin isn't getting wet, go ahead and sprinkle just a little bit more water on top. Allow the gelatin to dissolve for about five minutes or so into a thick jelly-like texture. And while it's doing that, you can just set it aside for now. So while the gelatin is blooming, you can get started on the stovetop and add two cups of heavy cream and one cup of whole milk to a pot over medium-high heat. In terms of sweetener, a traditional panna cotta will most often use granulated white sugar. But as I don't usually keep white sugar in my kitchen, I prefer to swap that for white honey, which has a lovely sweet and mild flavor. But you can use any sweetener you prefer, from granulated sugar to any form of honey or even maple syrup. And you'll add a quarter cup of that to the pot. Whisk that all together while the cream and milk begin to heat up, and I'm gonna give you guys a pro tip here. You do not wanna walk away from the stove at all. Milk can go from lightly simmering to boiling over in a split second. So just keep whisking it intermittently until you notice little bubbles forming on the outer edge of the pot. This is your indication that the milk mixture is on the verge of boiling, and it's at this point that you wanna turn off the heat before it actually boils. Add one and a half teaspoons of vanilla extract, which adds to the sweet flavor, and a pinch of kosher salt, and then whisk those into the milk mixture. Now, at this point in time, your bloomed gelatin will be more of a jelly blob, and you can just scooch that from your bowl into the hot liquid. It will naturally dissolve into the cream, but you wanna whisk it for a minute or two until you're confident that there's no longer any clumps. Because no one wants a clumpy panna cotta. Some recipes will have you strain it to be sure, but I found that step unnecessary as long as you do give it time to fully dissolve. I'm transferring my liquid to a large measuring cup with a pour spout as I find it easier to then pour into ramekins without spilling all over my counter, which I am prone to do. But if you're confident with pouring directly from your pot, you can do that as well. For whatever reason, this white pot of mine is impossible to strategically pour from, and after making a big mess in my kitchen trying to pour golden milk, I have since learned my lesson. But let's chat about the different ramekins you can use. You'll need six four-ounce ramekins, and you can use the standard ramekins like this that you'll find at most home stores and which I've used on previous panna cotta recipes. But because I have used them on previous panna cotta recipes, I thought I'd go for a different shape today and use these small prep bowls or dipping bowls. When you invert the panna cotta, you get more of a dome shape rather than a flat top, and that's kind of fun. But if you don't want to invert the panna cotta from the ramekin, you certainly don't have to do that. You can just serve it straight up in the ramekin or even a glass, which is always pretty. And you can then fill the glass about halfway or so with the milk mixture. As I mentioned, you'll need six ramekins, bowls, or glasses, and then evenly divide the milk mixture between them. And if you like the bowls I'm using today, I've linked them for you in the video description. Not only are they great for this recipe, but they also come in handy for serving up appetizers like nuts or dried fruit and condiments or dipping sauces like ketchup, barbecue sauce, or mayo. And guess what? They come in a perfect package of six. Once you've filled your ramekins, cover them with a little bit of plastic wrap to prevent a film from forming on top. Now, if you ask me, this is not completely necessary, especially if you plan to invert the panna cotta onto a plate. I've certainly made this recipe before and skipped this step, but if you want the panna cotta as smooth as can be with no film on top, then add the plastic wrap. It's up to you. Place the panna cotta in the fridge and let it chill for at least four to six hours, though preferably overnight so you can be 100% positive that it's firmed up. So now we're jumping ahead as the panna cotta is firm in about 30 minutes to an hour before you plan to serve the panna cotta, slice up about 10 to 12 strawberries. You could easily top the panna cotta with other berries or the fruit of your choice, so feel free to get creative and swap in what you'd like. But as strawberries are in season right now and they looked super juicy at the market this week, that's what I'm going with. After you've sliced them up, add them to a bowl and then drizzle two tablespoons of honey or maple syrup on top. It's funny because I prefer white honey as the sweetener in the panna cotta, but prefer maple syrup when I'm macerating the strawberries, probably because it's a bit more oozy and liquidy for when I add the strawberries on top. But again, you can use the sweetener of your choice. Give that a stir and then place it in the fridge until you're ready. All right, after the panna cotta is set, go ahead and remove them from the fridge and then remove the plastic wrap from on top if you've added it. If you do plan on inverting the panna cotta onto a dessert plate, use a knife to gently go around the top edge to break the seal that's formed. Add some hot water, but not boiling water, to a bowl and then carefully dip the ramekin or small bowl into the hot water for, oh, about five seconds or so. You don't want to let it sit in the hot water too long or it will start to melt, but you need to leave it long enough for the sides to release. I then also like to gently tap and rotate the ramekin just to help unstick it from the sides. But if you notice it not unsticking or sliding out easily, you can just plop it back in the hot water for a few more seconds until it is easy to remove. Then it's as simple as flipping it over onto a plate like so. Repeat this process with the other servings of panna cotta if you're serving them all up now and then add a portion of the macerated strawberries on top. The strawberries and their juices will ooze and dribble all over the panna cotta for one fantastic looking dessert that's really quite stunning and oh so easy to make. I'll also add that you know you've done well if your panna cotta has a lovely jiggle to it. That means it's not too firm, but perfectly set and is still lusciously creamy when you dig into it. So let's dig into it. I hope you guys enjoyed today's video and if you did, make sure to give the video a thumbs up as that really helps to support my channel, especially given YouTube's crazy algorithms. Share this recipe with your family and friends who love a perfectly sweet and creamy classic Italian dessert recipe and I will see you again in the next video.