Dessert | No Bake Desserts

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Berry Sauce

Name: Vanilla Panna Cotta with Berry Sauce
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h 30 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 100 g Whole Milk; 500 g Heavy Cream; 50 g Sugar; 50 g Powdered Sugar; 1 Vanilla Beans; 4 g Powdered Gelatin; 100 g Mixed Berries; 25 g Sugar; 1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Panna cotta, an easy no bake dessert, literally means cooked cream in Italian. This vanilla panna cotta recipe, topped with a delicious berry sauce, is perfect for any occasion.

Belula March 28, 2016 March 22, 2021

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Unmoulded panna cotta in the shape of a flower over a white plate topped with berry sauce and fresh berries.

My husband's favorite dessert is panna cotta. It was one of the things we made on one of our first dates, and it was good. Ever since that day, I went on a quest to find the perfect Panna Cotta. Many, many tests later this recipe came to exitance. The winner: my vanilla bean panna cotta. My official tester says it is the best he has ever had, and he has tried a lot of panna cotta. Probably not the most objective judge, but I think he is onto something! Hope you love it as much as he does!

What is panna cotta?

Panna cotta is a traditional Italian dessert that literally means cooked cream in that language. It is a no bake dessert made with cream, sugar and thickened with gelatin. You can flavor it with almost any aroma you can think of. Like chocolate, coffee, lavender, cardamom, or vanilla. This is an open-ended list: the sky is the limit.

Macro shot of one small glass filled with panna cotta, berry sauce, and berries as seen from the top.

The glass containers, placed on 2 plates, filled with the panna cotta, chilled and some covered with the berry sauce and some berries, as seen from the front, placed on top of a beige linen.

What molds to use to make this vanilla panna cotta?

There are 2 options when it comes to Panna cotta that will determine your choice of mould. Either you decide to:

Unmould this no bake dessert and serve it as you would a small individual cake, on a small plate. Or,
You don't unmould it, and you chill the panna cotta directly on the cups, or glasses where you will be serving it. Like a mousse.

For scenario number 1 choose a mould that's going to be easy to unmould, like an individual silicon muffin mold I like to use.

For scenario number 2, you can use pretty glasses you have at home, old yogurt containers, or a mix and match, as I did.

Note: if you are planning on unmolding your panna cotta you must grease the molds, or you will never get it out! Use baking spray or melted butter if you don’t have any spray.

Closeup of one small glass filled with panna cotta, berry sauce and red berries with a spoon on the side and a plate with berries on the bottom left corner.

Panna cotta chilled and unmoulded on white plate with a spoon on the side, with a small plate with berries in the bottom right corner, as seen from the top.

How to make panna cotta?

Prepare the containers or molds where you will be chilling the panna cotta. Remember to grease the moulds if you are planning to unmold the panna cotta.
Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl with cold water (if necessary, add some ice cubes).
In a small pan bring the milk to a boil over medium heat. Set aside. Once the gelatine is properly hydrated squeeze it for any excess water and add to the hot milk. Whisk until combined. Set aside.
In a pot combine the heavy cream, the scrapped vanilla bean, the powdered sugar, and the granulated sugar. Whisk to combine.
Over medium heat and whisking constantly bring to a simmer and remove from heat as soon as the cream starts making small bubbles.
Pour the milk/gelatine mixture onto the cream/sugar/vanilla mixture and whisk to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and let the vanilla infuse the mixture for half an hour.
Fill your moulds using a ladle. Let the panna cotta cool down at room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Vanilla bean scrapped, sugar and heavy cream in a pot.

Gelatine soaking in cold water in a glass bowl.

Gelatine and warm milk about to be whisked together inside a small pot.

Panna cotta mixture mixed and ready inside a small pot.

Panna cotta mixture mixed and ready inside a small pot covered in film wrap.

A hand filling small glass containers with vanilla panna cotta with a ladle.

How long does panna cotta keep?

You can keep this no bake dessert in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

A note on gelatine

The recipe instructions consider you will be using gelatine leaves.

If you use powdered gelatine the hydration process is a little different. In this case you must:

Add 2 tablespoons of warm water to the gelatine and mix until it has dissolved.
Then follow the instructions to add the gelatine to the panna cotta mixture.

How to make berry sauce for this panna cotta recipe?

Super easy to make this berry sauce, it takes no more than 10 minutes. You simply must:

In a small pot mix the berries, the sugar, and the lemon juice. Bring to boil and cook for a 2/3 minutes.
Remove from heat, blend, and strain.
Transfer onto a plastic container and let it cool down. Refrigerate until you are ready to use.

Note: If you don't want to strain the sauce this is also fine. I prefer it smoother, but that's completely up to you.

You can use either fresh or frozen berries.

Berry sauce cooked inside a pot before straining.

Berry sauce being strained over a small fine mesh strainer placed on top of a white bowl.

Berry sauce inside a small bowl on a beige linen cloth with a spoon on the side.

How long does can you keep berry sauce?

It will last for about two weeks in the refrigerator stored in an airtight container.

It keeps for a month in the freezer stored in an airtight container.

To defrost: place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

How to serve Vanilla Panna Cotta?

When you are ready to serve this no bake dessert:

Either unmould onto a plate and drizzle with the berry sauce and add some fresh berries. Or,
If you decided to serve it in small glasses or ramequins, top the panna cotta in each glass with two spoonful of berry sauce. Add some fresh berries.

Panna cotta chilled and ready inside the mould placed on white plate on top of a beige linen cloth.

Panna cotta chilled and unmoulded on white plate on top of a beige linen cloth with a spoon on the side.

The glass containers, placed on 2 plates, filled with the panna cotta, chilled and some covered with the berry sauce, as seen from above. All is on top of a beige linen cloth.

The glass containers, placed on 2 plates, filled with the panna cotta, chilled and some covered with the berry sauce, as seen from the front. All is on top of a beige linen cloth.

The ingredients used in all recipes on this site are measured using the metric system. I use a scale to be precise with my measurements and ensure good results. If you would also like to use a scale, here are some: USA, Canada, UK, Australia, France.

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Berry Sauce

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Nutrition: 400 cal

Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

Panna Cotta

Whole Milk 100 g
Heavy Cream 500 g
Sugar 50 g
Powdered Sugar 50 g
Vanilla Beans 1
Powdered Gelatin (or 4 sheets) 4 g

Raspberry Sauce

Mixed Berries (fresh or frozen) 100 g
Sugar 25 g
Lemon Juice 1 tbsp

Procedure

1. Prepare the moulds: Grease the moulds with baking spray or melted butter. If you plan on serving the panna cotta directly on glasses or ramequins, there is no need to grease the moulds.
2. Make the panna cotta: Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl with cold water (if necessary, add some ice cubes). In a small pan bring the milk to a boil over medium heat. Set aside. Once the gelatine is properly hydrated squeeze it for any excess water and add to the hot milk. Whisk until combined. Set aside. In a pot combine the heavy cream, the scrapped vanilla bean, the powdered sugar and the granulated sugar. Whisk to combine. Over medium heat and whisking constantly bring to a simmer and remove from heat as soon as the cream starts making small bubbles. Pour the milk/gelatine mixture onto the cream/sugar/vanilla mixture and whisk to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and let the vanilla infuse the mixture for half an hour.
3. Fill the moulds with panna cotta: Fill your moulds using a ladle. Let the panna cotta cool down at room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
4. Prepare the berry sauce: In a small pot mix the berries, the sugar and the lemon juice. Bring to boil and cook for a 2/3 minutes. Remove from heat, blend and strain. Transfer onto a plastic container and let it cool down. Refrigerate until you are ready to use.
5. Serve the panna cotta: Unmould the panna cotta onto a plate, drizzle some sauce over it and top with fresh berries. If you are eating them directly from some cute pots or ramekins, drizzle some sauce over the top before serving.

If you made this recipe I would really appreciate it if you leave a rating or comment below! Also, if you share on social media please use #cookwithbelula, I would love to see what you create!

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