Fresh Berries & Cream Panna Cotta - Handmade in the Heartland

Fresh Berries and Cream Panna Cotta #creativebuzz

Does summer have a taste to you? I always know that its truly summer when I’m eating watermelon all the time. This recipe doesn’t have anything to do with watermelon but you know that feeling when you’re eating something and it just is perfectly made for that time of year? Fruits of the season, if you will. Strawberries make me feel like summer is almost here, and desserts with strawberries are a winner in my book. I started experimenting with panna cotta last year, I happen to love it, I’ve served it to a few people who don’t like the texture of Jell-O and if you are one of those type of people I’ll go ahead and tell you this dessert is not for you, oh and that your totally missing out. 🙂 In my opinion this is the most perfect summer dessert, its cool, refreshing and light; Sweet but not too sweet and easy enough to make. Do you have friends coming over for memorial day weekend or are you going to a bbq? Go ahead and try your hand at this fresh berries & cream panna cotta, its delicious!

I mean how pretty are those layers?! Sure the most tedious part of this recipe is waiting the 2 hours in between making each layer so the previous layer can set up, but it creates such a beautiful finished product- totally worth it!

I will be honest and tell you I’m a sales consultant for Demarle at Home, pretty much the only reason I signed up was so I could get a discount because I’m totally obsessed with the products, which are non stick bakeware made of food grade silicone and woven glass, all the professionals use this stuff. Anyway I’m not quite sure how you would make panna cotta and be able to get it out to show like this if you didn’t have a Demarle mold. Because they are perfectly non-stick after the panna cotta is sufficiently set up all I had to do was gently pull back the mold and pop out the small round (above) and the pyramid shapes (below). Its kind of like magic.

Fresh Berries and Cream Panna Cotta

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream, divided
3/4 cup Sugar, divided
1 cup pureed strawberries
1 cup pureed blueberries
3 packets Knox gelatin, divided
9 Tablespoons Cold water, divided
1/2 tablespoon Pure vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

Make the strawberry layer by placing 1 cup of cream and 1/4 cup of sugar into a saucepan over medium heat. Heat up to a slow simmer, stirring occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved and then remove from heat. While the cream is cooking in a small bowl combine the gelatin packet with 3 tablespoons of cold water. After the cream has cooled slightly add the strawberry puree and stir until combined, then add the gelatin & water mixture (which should be a gelatinous solid at this point) and whisk until combined. Fill the bottom of a flexipan mold with the strawberry mixture, or separate out if you are doing multiple small ones. Put in the fridge to cool and set up for 2 hours.
To make the cream layer you are going to do the exact same method as you did with the strawberry layer except use 1 1/2 cups of cream and add the vanilla extract into the mixture instead of the fruit. I always wait until each layer is firm before i even make the next layer. Once the first layer is set (meaning you can touch it and it feels like Jello-O) then you’ll make your next layer and pour it on top. Put it back in the fridge to set again and then do the third layer.
To make the blueberry layer you use the same technique as the strawberry layer and all the same ingredient measurements. My blueberries came out more purple than i wanted when I first pureed them so i added blue food coloring.
To serve gently pull back the sides of the flexipan mold and invert the panna cotta onto plates, you can add fresh fruit to garnish if desired.