Panna Cotta with Mixed Berry Sauce

Nothing says summer quite like a berry dessert. One of my favorite restaurant treat is panna cotta. The mixture of creamy panna cotta with a sweet and tart berry sauce is simplicity at its best. This dessert is super easy to make, but still has that wow factor whenever I serve it. Enjoy this summer treat at the end of your next meal.

Ingredients:

Panna Cotta

200 ml of milk

200 ml of heavy cream

2 and 1/4 sheet of silver grade gelatin (160+ bloom) (You can buy this easily online or Amazon. I prefer to use sheet gelatin as it is much easier to dissolve and use.)

Or 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of powder gelatin. (You will need to bloom the gelatin in some cold water and then melt over hot water before adding it to the warm cream mixture. Fine Cooking has a good how-to guide on using powder gelatin here.)

1/4 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Berry Sauce

2 cups of frozen berry mix

1/4 tablespoon of lemon

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon of sugar

Directions:

Make the panna cotta:

Soften 2 and 1/4 sheets of gelatin by soaking them in 1 cup of cold water. Set aside.

If you are using powdered gelatin, you will need to let it bloom.
This is good video to explain the difference between leaf and powdered gelatin and how to use it.

While stirring, heat up 200 ml of milk, 200 ml of heavy cream, and 1/4 cup of sugar on low until the temperature reaches 90F-100F. (Gelatin will dissolve around 90F-100F. If you boil the liquid and then add gelatin, the high heat will reduce the effectiveness of the gelatin.) Turn off the heat and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Gently squeeze the excess water out of the softened gelatin and add to the milk mixture. Stir until the gelatin has fully dissolved, which takes less a minute.

Portion the panna cotta into 4 cups. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours or until the panna cotta has set.

Make the berry sauce:

In a small saucepan, heat 2 cups of frozen berry mix, 1/4 tablespoon of lemon juice, zest of 1 lemon, and 1 tablespoon of sugar on medium-low. Stir the mixture until sugar dissolves and berries have broken down into a runny sauce. Turn off the heat and let it cool.