Buttermilk Panna Cotta

 20 March 2021

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, May 2020

We enjoy the variety of pudding-like desserts: flavorful, smooth, creamy concoctions that are easy to make at home and good to eat. These include puddings, cream pies, tarts, posset, pots de creme, and crème brûlée. So when a recent issue of the Cook's Illustrated magazine included a panna cotta recipe it seemed a natural thing to try. Looking back, it would seem that making this will be a first for me and this dessert.

The panna cotta (Italian for "cooked cream") was very easy to make. The magazine article provided instructions for several variations, I made buttermilk-vanilla panna cotta. Sugar, unflavored gelatin, and salt were whisked together in a small saucepan until combined, cream was whisked in and the mixture let sit for a few minutes. A vanilla bean was cut in half; the seeds were removed and added to the cream mixture along with the bean. This mixture was cooked, with occasional stirring, until it reached 150°.  It was removed from the heat and after cooling to 110° was strained into a large measuring cup (for ease of pouring) and buttermilk was whisked in. The mixture was divided evenly among 8 ramekins and chilled for 6 hours. That's all there was to it! Total time, except chilling, was 50 minutes and a significant portion of that was hands off.

We served the panna cotta with blueberries. The instructions include a procedure for unmolding the dessert but we just ate it out of the ramekins. It was pretty good and, especially given the ease of preparation, worth making again. It was very smooth and creamy with a touch of tang from the buttermilk and a touch of vanilla. It was not too sweet and complemented the berries nicely. The vanilla bean made it a little pricey but an equivalent amount of vanilla extract could probably be used in its place.