Try our buttermilk panna cotta recipe for another simple and delicious take on the classic Italian dessert! If you’ve ever hesitated at the thought of making panna cotta, you’re not alone. It’s one of those impressive desserts that, until you make it, seems tricky or difficult. The surprising thing is, panna cotta is a really easy dessert to make. The words panna cotta translates to “cooked cream” and that’s essentially all it is. It’s made with simple ingredients using simple methods. All you do is heat whole milk with gelatin and sugar in a pot, remove it from the heat, and stir in the cream and orange blossom water. Place the pot in the fridge to cool, then whisk it before pouring it into little jars or cups. Pop them in the fridge to set, and top each one with a candied mandarin to serve. The candied mandarins are optional, but they add a pretty visual element, and they taste great, too. To make them, simply coat sliced mandarin oranges in sugar, and bake them until they’re slightly dried out. These individual little panna cottas are a delightful make-ahead dessert for dinner parties, or to celebrate special occasions like birthdays or Mother’s Day. It’s commonly used in Mediterranean desserts like pastries and more recently madeleines, scones, and even marshmallows. It’s also a traditional ingredient in North African and Middle Eastern cooking, often used to flavor the syrup used in baklava or to mask the flavor of plain water.
Whole milk – traditional panna cotta is made with cream, but we find using some whole milk works well and makes it lighter in texture. Gelatin – we use powdered gelatin but you can use the sheets if you prefer. This important ingredient gives the panna cotta its structure. Granulated sugar – for sweetness; granulated sugar is light in color and dissolves easily into the milk mixture. Heavy cream – for that classic creamy taste and texture. Orange blossom water – orange blossom water is delicate and floral, and can easily be found at most grocery stores or Middle Eastern markets.
Here’s what you need to make the pretty candied oranges:
Mini mandarin oranges – we use mini mandarin oranges because their size fits well into the mason jars, but you can use any variety of sliced orange. Granulated sugar – granulated sugar is ideal for candied orange slices. Other sugars like brown or raw will color the panna cotta so it will look muddy.
You will also need six (6) little mason jars, cups, or containers for serving. Here’s how to make the pretty candied mandarin oranges:
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