History of Panna Cotta
Panna Cotta literally means “cream cooked” in Italian, and although it’s often positioned as a traditional Northern Italian dessert, all evidence points to a rather short history. The first mentions of the dish didn’t start appearing in Italian cookbooks until the 1960’s. Although its exact origins remain murky, it’s likely that it evolved from other egg and cream based custards widespread across Europe.
Panna Cotta - Custard or Gelatin?
Although Panna Cotta is generally set with gelatin, it’s always struck me as odd that despite the name implying that the dessert is cooked, it’s not (the cream is just heated to melt the gelatin).
A few weeks ago, I had a delightful lunch cooked by a chef trained in Northern Italy. He insisted the proper way to make Panna Cotta was without gelatin, and it was indeed the best version of this decadent dessert I’ve ever had.
For all it’s magical gelling powers, gelatin has two big weaknesses. The first is that it can be a bit finicky to work with; heat, acidity, and sugar content can all affect how well gelatin sets (or doesn’t set). Making matters worse is the fact that there are so many different types of gelatin, it’s hard to say just how much of any one type to add. That’s why most recipes call for way more gelatin than needed, which makes the Panna Cotta hard.
The other problem is that gelatin literally stinks. High grade gelatins take measures to mitigate the smell, but the majority of commercial gelatin tastes like the skin and hooves it’s made from; not a flattering taste for this delicate dessert.
Using egg to set the Panna Cotta solves these problems, by using barely enough egg to set it. The resulting custard is silky smooth with a texture that's like warm butter (it melts on contact with your warm mouth). Eggs themselves can have a sulphuric odor to them, but by using just the egg whites, you’re not only able to keep the Panna Cotta snow white, but it also doesn’t taste eggy.
Air bubbles will ruin the texture of your Panna Cotta, so the tricky part is beating the custard mixture enough to ensure the egg whites are evenly distributed, but not so vigorously that you whip it into a foam. I've found a few pulses of a hand blender fully submerged in the custard mixture works best. Then I pass the mixture through a fine mesh tea strainer to remove any bubbles that do develop.
Best Cream for Panna Cotta
For me, what sets Panna Cotta apart from other custard-like desserts is that it's first and foremost about the cream. That's why I like using cream with the highest butterfat content available. Here in Japan, we have cream with 42% butterfat. In the US "Heavy Cream" is supposed to have at least 38% fat so that would be your best bet.
Caramel Sauce
While I love a tangy sweet fruit coulis to go with this rich panna cotta, there's something magical about adding a layer of almost-burnt caramel to the bottom of ramekins and watching the hard candy turn to liquid gold by the time you unmold it. If you go the fruit topping route, skip the caramel and serve the Panna Cotta in the ramekin topped with your favorite fruit sauce.
The trick with the caramel is to get it as dark as you without making it bitter. This is easier said than done, as carry-over cooking will make the caramel continue to rise in temperature even after you've removed it from the heat. The best solution for this is to add a small amount of water to the caramel when it's reached the perfect color, which quickly lowers the temperature.
Other Custard Desserts
📖 Recipe
Units
Ingredients
For caramel
- 3 tablespoons water
- 115 grams evaporated cane sugar (about ½ cup)
- 2 tablespoons water
For Panna Cotta
- 1 ⅔ cup heavy cream (I used 42% butterfat)
- 75 grams granulated sugar (about ⅓ cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cups egg whites (about 3-4 eggs)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 280 degrees F (140 C).
- Prepare a tray with 6 six ounce ramekins.
- Add 3 tablespoons of water to a pot with a lid and then add the sugar into the middle of the pot. Cover with a lid and bring the mixture to a boil. Continue to boil with the lid on until the sugar has completely melted.
- Once the sugar has melted remove the lid and and start measuring the temperature. You can stir it at this point if you need to.
- When the caramel reaches a medium brown color (350 degrees F), remove the pot from the heat and quickly and carefully pour 2 tablespoons of room temperature water into it, whisking to combine. Be very careful as the hot caramel will sputter.
- Divide the caramel between the ramekins.
- Boil some water
- To prepare the custard for the Panna Cotta, put the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a pot and heat, stirring until the sugar has fully dissolved (don't let the mixture boil). Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool to lukewarm. You can use an ice bath to speed this up.
- While you're waiting for the cream to cool, measure out the egg whites into a tall liquid measuring cup. If you don't have one, you can use any tall container your hand blender will fit in.
- Once the cream has cooled, pour the cream mixture into the egg whites. Stick the hand blender in the mixture and swish it around a bit without turning it on to remove any air trapped near the blades. With the blender fully submerged, pulse until the mixture is homogeneous. The idea is to mix evenly without incorporating any air.
- Divide the Panna Cotta custard between the ramekins and pour boiling water into the tray halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Carefully put the tray into the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the custard has reached 163 degrees F (73 C).
- Let the ramekins cool, cover and refrigerate until set.
- Run a hot paring knife or needle around the edge of the ramekin to separate and then unmold the Panna Cotta onto a plate.
Rashmee says
So basically panna cotta is caramel custard?
Marc Matsumoto says
Panna cotta is the custard. Caramel is an optional item. For instance, some panna cotta are topped with a fruit sauce, while others have no topping at all.
mazidah says
Panna Cotta is a bit the same as caramel pudding
mazidah says
I just imagine that the taste is something like caramel pudding
Marc Matsumoto says
The taste is quite different as this does not include the yolks (which gives caramel pudding an eggy taste). The use of cream also makes it much richer (closer to a pot de creme than a creme caramel).
phil hoyt says
Has anyone flavoured the Panna Cotta with a fruit? If so how was this recipe modified?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Phil, I don't recommend adding fruit directly to the custard as it will cause the cream to curdle. The best way to make a fruit Panna Cotta is to skip the caramel in this recipe, just make the custard in the ramekins. You won't be able to unmold them, but you can then pour on your favorite fruit puree onto the tops of the Panna Cotta such as this raspberry coulis: https://norecipes.com/raspberry-coulis/
David Forbes says
I put some lemon zest in mine tasted great.
Marc Matsumoto says
Great idea David! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Megan Potter says
Fabulous. Thanks for the tips. Made this last night, refrigerated it overnight and family are raving after dessert tonight. I used light cream instead (to try and be healthier!), and the result was still very tasty. Topped it with fruit and drizzled honey. Agree that using egg white alone does provide significant distinction from the taste of custard.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Megan, I'm so glad to hear that you and your family enjoyed it! Thanks from stopping back by to let me know!
april says
what a lovely, silky version of panna cotta. the berries make the composition beautiful – and delicious too, I’m sure. Last time I made panna cotta, it didn’t gel very well. I’ll try this recipe next time for sure.
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks April, I hope you enjoy it!
Liz says
Hi Marc,
I made this for the second time yesterday. The first time it came out perfect and last night I felt like it was too eggy, like you could taste the cooked egg in it. Do you think that could be a cause of overwhipping or just a tad too much egg whites? Also, what's the best way to tell if they are cooked through because I don't have an instant-read thermometer. They were in for approx 34 minutes
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Liz, it sounds like you may have overcooked it. Egg whites contain sulfur which is released when the eggs are heated to over 180 degrees F. Eyeballing that 18 degree margin is pretty tough, so I'd recommend getting a thermometer (you can get one for as little as $10 and they don't take up a lot of space). Also using time is not a reliable method as the thermostat on most ovens is not accurate, and even if they were, different ovens circulate air differently which results in varying cooking times. If you don't mind experimenting, you could try and lop off a few minutes every time you make this until it no longer smells eggy.
Saba says
I looked at other panna cotta recipes but they made no sense. Gelatin? Agar agar? No cook? There's no way those are close to authentic Italian panna cotta.
I made this the other night. Topped half the batch with mango reduction, the other half with butterscotch. Oh. My. Gosh. We were not prepared! Velvety smooth. Rich. Elegant. Simple. Perfectly sweet. As my husband declared after licking his ramekin: YUM YUM!
Follow the recipe guys! Measure out the ingredients. Chill in the fridge for the full 24 hours. Buy an immersion blender just for this dessert. I promise it's worth it!
This is it. This is the recipe we needed in our lives. Thank you!!!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Saba, thanks for the kind note, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed this! This is one of my favorite desserts. Have a great week!
Gigi says
I made this last night and it is so good! The first time I ever had Panna cotta was at an upscale restaurant in nyc. I tried other recipes to try and recreate it and all they all failed the nail the texture. It took me way too long to find this recipe. I’m officially converted against gelatin.
I don’t have an immersion blender so I vigorously whisked mine and strained it a couple of times to remove the bubbles. I also substituted the caramel sauce for a strawberry and fig purée. I think the Panna Cotta base would work well just just about any kind of topping you can imagine. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks Gigi, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this, thanks for dropping a comment to let me know. Strawberry fig purée sounds divine!
Ken says
So basically flan.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Ken, in Spanish speaking countries it's known as flan and in France, crème caramel. The difference with this is that it's made without milk so it is very rich, and it's also made without yolks, which gives it a lighter color and less eggy taste.
Liz says
I love this recipe, and I've made it a few different ways. It is endlessly versatile. I made a baileys panna cotta by substituting 1/3 of a cup of baileys for 1/3 of a cup of cream. I poured salted caramel sauce (different recipe) into the bottom of small, clear jars and put them in the freezer for around 1 hour first, so that when poured the panna cotta mixture on top the caramel sauce would remain intact. They were BEAUTIFUL. Then I turned the same mixture into mango-coconut tarts by substituting half of the cream with a mixture of coconut milk and coconut cream (staying above 33% fat). I removed 3 tbsp of the cream mixture before adding the eggs and substituted back in 3 tbsp of pureed fresh mango and the mixture didn't curdle and was absolutely delicious. I poured this into a pre-baked hazelnut flour tart crust to bake and served topped with fresh mango and coconut flakes. What I've personally found with this recipe is that if you keep the fat at/above about 33%, maintain the ratios and are careful not to add too much acid (I only added 3 tbsp of mango puree but I'd be careful about adding say, berries...) you can use it for practically anything. Amazing!
Marc Matsumoto says
Wow thanks for sharing all of your variations Liz, they sound amazing! If you want to make a creamy custard with more acid (i.e. raspberries, passionfruit, lemon, etc) check out this recipe: https://norecipes.com/yuzu-posset-recipe/ It's how I make the custard for my keylime pie as well.
Shantanu says
Marc
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I want to use sous vide for the cooking the panna cotta instead of the oven. What temperature do you recommend I set on the immersion circulator? I am guessing 163F (73C) since that's the temperature in your instructions. How much time would you recommend?
Thank you.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Shantanu, that's a good question. I've never tried it, but most recipes for seem to call for setting the circulator for between 175-179F and cooking it for an hour. Using sous vide for custards always seemed like more work than it was worth so I usually just use a double boiler in an oven.
Sammy says
I've made this panna cotta recipe 4 times, and while it tastes great, it has never fully set. Even after leaving it in the fridge for 24 hours, it does not set. I bake it for around 40 minutes, could it be that I need to bake it longer? I follow all the steps exactly as written.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Sammy, I'm sorry to hear you're having troubles with this. I could questions 1) Are you measuring out the egg yolks using a US 2/3 cup (eggs are various size so going by the number of eggs won't always work)? 2) After baking for 30-40 minutes, are you checking that the internal temperature of the custard has reached 163°F(73°C)? The thermostat on most ovens is off so it's possible your oven either needs to be set higher or the panna cotta needs to be cooked for more time.
Leticia Metallo says
I love this recipe with egg whites, it's actually very Keto friendly. Never Gelatin
I would love to see how using dark chocolate will keep the custard texture and
be just as decadent. I'm wondering if the other ingredients would have to be
adjusted.
Ps: I put a single wrapped soft caramel on the bottom of the ramekin.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Leticia, I'm happy to hear you enjoyed this! Great call using premade caramel to speed things up. It might be a little difficult to incorporate melted chocolate into the custard, but you could add a high quality Dutch-processed cocoa powder. I also have a chocolate pudding recipe that uses a different process but is also very good: https://norecipes.com/best-chocolate-pudding/
TM says
This may be the secret to the best-ever panna cotta I had in my entire life, at a fantastic restaurant in Vernazza on the Cinque Terra. The location definitely checks out.
Every single panna cotta I've had since then - no matter how fine the restaurant - has been just a bit too much on the "rubbery" side in comparison. So I will be trying this - probably with sheep's milk and cream - and hoping for the best.
But I feel certain this will be the closest to the sublime version I had in Italy - thank you!
Marc says
Hi TM, I'm happy to hear I was able to give you some ideas for pursuing your memory of the perfect panna cotta. I hope it's able to live up to your expectations!