Coffee Panna Cotta: A Classic Creamy Italian Dessert
With just a few simple ingredients like coffee, heavy cream, sugar and gelatin, you'll have a decadent dessert that's so easy to make, you'll be whipping it up for every get-together. The best part? The entire recipe takes less than 10 minutes, then you just have to wait patiently for it to set in the fridge.
Equipment
- 6 Panna cotta mold of about 125 ml (4oz)
Ingredients
- 230 ml coffee divided
- 8 g gelatin sheets or 12 g gelatin powder, unflavored
- 500 ml heavy cream
- 100 g sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100 g dark chocolate
- Chocolate coffee beans to decorate (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the coffee using a Moka pot for an authentic flavor. But if you don't have one, coffee from a machine or instant will still work. The important thing is that the coffee is bold and unsweetened.
- Soak the gelatin in cold water for about 10 minutes. If using powdered gelatin, dissolve it in some cold water as the package says.
- In a saucepan, heat heavy cream, sugar and vanilla extract over medium until the sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Don't let it boil.
- When it's almost boiling, turn off the heat. Squeeze the gelatin and add it to the cream. If using powdered gelatin, sprinkle it over the cream. Now add 150 ml of coffee and mix until the gelatin fully dissolves.
- Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer evenly into 6 molds that hold about 125 ml each. Let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours until set.
- About 15 minutes before serving, make the sauce. Melt the dark chocolate either over a water bath or in the microwave. Then add 80 ml of hot coffee and mix until runny but not too thin.
- When ready to serve, run a knife around the edge of each mold with the blade dipped in boiling water. Do this all around but don't go too deep. Then dip the whole mold in boiling water briefly before flipping upside down onto a plate. Use the knife if any are stuck.
- Once unmolded, drizzle the coffee chocolate sauce over the top. Feel free to scatter some chocolate coffee beans around too if you have them. Enjoy!