Since traveling to Italy this summer, I have been obsessed with panna cotta. A light, creamy and refreshing dessert that there somehow always seems to be enough room for. The great thing about a panna cotta is that you can infuse almost any flavor into the cream. Here, I use the classic vanilla pod, but I am scheming up ways to infuse the cream with basil, chocolate, hazelnuts, lime and the list is, well I guess you are starting to tell, endless. This time, however, I wanted to keep it simple. Classic vanilla inside a wibbly, wobbly Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta.
This Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta is great because greek yogurt gives the dessert a great creamy texture and the slight tang that comes with a good Greek yogurt. It balances perfectly with the sweet amber honey that is drizzled over when serving. The panna cotta was SO good, that hubby even caught me topping one with granola and having for breakfast with fruit! You know it’s good when you can have it for breakfast!
When I took these little darlings out of the fridge for the first time after letting them set, I was so worried about how to get them out of the molds! The last thing I wanted to do was scrape a knife down the sides and destroy my perfectly formed panna cottas! If they’re struggling to come out of the molds (if using), you can dip the outside of the mold into a bowl of warm water, being careful not to get any water into the panna cotta of course! This should loosen the sides enough to allow it to plop out onto a plate.
Another great thing about this dessert is that it can be prepared in advance. It only takes about 10 minutes to prepare, then it’s just poured into the molds, placed in the fridge to set and voila! Perfect for a busy dinner party as it can be done the night before and it is oh so impressive!
I think the thing I love most about this Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta is the texture. It is creamier than creamy, so smooth and refreshing. Make sure that the gelatin is completely dissolved when mixing together in order to achieve this consistency. Topping with a sliced fig instantly transports me to Mykonos, where I imagine I’m staring at the aquamarine sea and soaking in the Mediterranean sunshine and dipping a tiny spoon into a wobbling, sweet, creamy Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 1 packet unflavored gelatin powder
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 vanilla bean
- ¾ cup sugar
- Sliced fresh figs, berries or other fruit and honey to serve
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add 3 tablespoons cold water. Sprinkle the gelatin powder on the water, and stir to combine. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to fully dissolve.
- In the meantime, in a medium bowl, whisk together half (1½ cups) of the heavy cream, the yogurt and the vanilla extract – mixing well to combine. Remove the seeds from the vanilla bean (cut the bean lengthwise with a sharp knife and then use the tip of the knife to scrape the seeds out of the bean); add vanilla seeds to the cream mixture.
- In a small pan, heat the other 1½ cups of heavy cream and the sugar over medium heat. When the mixture comes to a simmer, remove from the heat and stir in the dissolved gelatin. Stir until completely dissolved. Add the hot cream-gelatin mixture to the cold cream mixture and mix well.
- Pour the mixture into decorative serving glasses, ramekins or custard cups (or a single, wide flat bowl will also work if you do not have ramekins) and chill until cold. Once the panna cottas are completely chilled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or at least another 6 hours).
- Serve with sliced fresh figs or berries and honey.
Notes
Recipe from Flick of the Whisk. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.