This recipe is for the easiest and best chocolate panna cotta, and who doesn’t want that, right? It uses few ingredients and takes very little time to make. You can make it in the morning or even the night before a dinner party!
I love to know that dessert is done before I even shop and cook for a dinner party. Making Panna Cotta is the one dessert I can always count on; everyone loves it, and I love that I can make it the day before.
What is Panna Cotta?
Let’s first answer the question, what is Panna cotta? Quite simply, it translates to “cooked cream.” It is an Italian dessert with sweetened milk thickened with gelatin.
What ingredients will you need to make panna cotta?
Well, that depends on whether you are making vanilla, chocolate, or another flavor of panna cotta. But since this recipe is for chocolate panna cotta, this list will include two kinds of chocolate.
- Heavy cream
- Whole milk
- Milk Chocolate
- Bittersweet chocolate
- Unflavored gelatin
- Sugar
- Vanilla
- Salt
- Pine nuts
Is panna cotta a custard or pudding?
Panna cotta is very similar to pudding. It’s similar to another Italian dessert, budino. However, budino recipes include eggs, and panna cotta does not. Both have a creamy, thickened texture.
Panna cotta is more firm than pudding or budino. It’s closer to the inside of a chocolaet truffle…if you can imagine?! Yum!
How is it so easy to make panna cotta?
There’s often a misconception that panna cotta is time intensive to make. But in reality, it’s as easy as making jello! It’s quick and practically foolproof to make.
What special equipment will you need for making panna cotta?
You don’t need anything special other than some ramekins. Since you don’t bake panna cotta, small glasses could be used instead of ramekins.
You want to use ramekins because unmolding the panna cotta onto plates is easier. You can serve panna cotta in the molds (or cups), but most often, you will see it unmolded on a plate with a garnish like shaved chocolate, fruit, or nuts.
Chocolate Panna Cotta with Sugared Pine Nuts
This recipe is from the Whisk kitchen shop in Brooklyn, NY. The shop features recipes from local foodies, and this one is by Brooklyn food photographer @with_spice.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes + 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours, 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: dessert
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
For the Panna Cotta:
- 1/4 cup cold milk
- 1 teaspoon granulated gelatin
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 1/4 cups heavy cream
- pinch of salt
- 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 8 ounces of milk chocolate, chopped (I used Hershey’s Chocolate Bars)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Sugared pine nuts (recipe below) for garnish
For the Sugared Pine Nuts:
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup sugar (divided)
- 3/4 cup pine nuts
- flaky salt
Instructions
- Place eight 4-ounce ramekins on a sheet pan and spray the ramekins with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Place milk in a small bowl, and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface. Set aside and allow it to bloom and soften.
- Heat the cream, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and bubbles form at the edge. Add the chocolate and stir until melted.
- Remove from the heat when the chocolate has melted, add the milk/gelatin mixture, and stir until dissolved.
- Add the vanilla.
- Ladle the mixture into eight ramekins. Let cool for 10 minutes, then cover loosely and refrigerate for at least six hours.
- To unmold, slide a hot butter knife around the edge carefully to loosen the panna cotta from the edges of the mold. Then dip the ramekin for about 15 seconds in a very hot bowl of water, and carefully turn it onto a small plate.
- Garnish with the sugared pine nuts, and enjoy!
For the Sugared Pine Nuts:
- Preheat oven to 325º
- Combine 2 tablespoons water and 1/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
- Place the pine nuts in a small bowl and toss with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the simple syrup until coated.
- Add the remaining sugar and a pinch of flaky salt, tossing to combine.
- Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake until golden. About 8 minutes. Turn the pan halfway through baking to make sure they don’t burn.
This recipe is by Indira Hampton @with_spice. It was the recipe of the month at Whisk in Brooklyn. You can read that post right here.
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