Ready to cook the authentic Italian panna cotta recipe and savor it during a stargazing night?

The classic panna cotta is made with gelatin sheets, milk, and sugar.

Italian panna cotta recipe
authentic Italian panna cotta in glass cups

WHAT IS PANNA COTTA

The authentic Panna cotta is an Italian “dolce al cucchiaio” (= desserts by the spoon): creamy desserts served in cups, glasses, etc., to be savored a spoonful at the time. They’re the best sweet note to any Summer dinner partyBecause they’re fresh and you usually serve them in small portions that won’t overload your body, leaving you free to dance, go for a walk on the beach, or sip on an iced limoncello.

Panna cotta, cooked heavy cream, is also the dessert all children dream of when visiting nonna.

HOW TO MAKE AND SERVE PANNA COTTA

This is the classic panna cotta recipe: it is made with gelatin sheets, milk, and sugar.

Serve it sprinkled with cocoa powder and devour it during a stargazing night!

A recipe from the Simposio Book Series

The panna cotta recipe is from the Southern Summer Simposio, my Italian cooking and living book series: Southern Italy recipes, Salerno’s traditions and curiosities, bruschetta and aperitivo recipes, and lots of Italian summer stories! 

Torino

The city of elegance

Papal Rome

The city of food

Venice

The city of opulence

Italian panna cotta in glasses
Panna cotta in vintage glasses

Italian panna cotta

Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 40 minutes
Resting Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Servings 4
Author Claudia Rinaldi | Gourmet Project

Ingredients

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup cow milk
  • 3 tablespoon white sugar
  • 2 gelatin sheets 5 gr
  • 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Soak gelatin sheets in a bowl of water 10-15 minutes.
  2. Place milk, heavy cream and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Immediately turn off the heat.

  3. Squeeze the gelatin sheets and add them to the saucepan. Add the vanilla extract as well, and stir until completely amalgamated.

  4. Let temperature decrease a bit.

  5. Pour the mixture into cups or molds.

  6. Refrigerate at least a couple of hours.

  7. Serve cold plain or sprinkled with cocoa powder.

FROM THE ITALIAN COLORS NEWSLETTER:

“Here’s an Italian word worth knowing on a stargazing night.
Gibigianna: glitter or flash of light reflected on a mirror and/or water”

Enjoy your creamy panna cotta!

Claudia