Easy Vanilla Panna Cotta with Blueberry Coulis

Whenever I see a pretty dessert photo on Pinterest, the first thing I do is pin it and then the next thing I do is nothing. To be honest, it’s easy to get intimidated by many of the recipes out there; a lot of them look complex and like they’re too much work. But I decided to do something different when I saw this vanilla panna cotta recipe with blueberry coulis by Nags from Edible Garden.

It was beautiful and promised to be simple, so I thought I’d get the ingredients at the store and give it a try.

Turns out, it was easy, probably too easy. As I’ve talked about on here before, whenever I step out of my comfort zone when it comes to cooking, I always find that I’m still in it. I never left; I just found that certain recipes aren’t as intimidating as they look.

This panna cotta recipe also makes quite a few servings, so it’s great when you have friends over… or if you just want to eat it yourself over the course of a few days.

So here’s the recipes I followed as directed by Nags.

First, you’ll pour cream (I used heavy whipping cream), whole milk, and vanilla into a pan. She used vanilla bean pods, but since it was more cost-effective, I used vanilla extract instead.

Turn on the stove to high heat and then add sugar once it starts to boil. Stir until it’s dissolved and take off of heat immediately.

Next, bring two tablespoons of water to boil in the microwave (too easy), add unflavored gelatin, and mix until dissolved. Then adding it into the cream mixture, stir until it’s combined.

Once this is done, you can pour it into whatever small dish you have (such as a cup or ramekin), but we both used silicone cupcake molds.

Make sure the dishes you use are greased with butter or some type of oil so it doesn’t stick!

Now this is the hard part; you put it in the fridge for 8 hours (or just before you go to bed), and wait. I don’t like waiting for things, especially when it’s a dessert, so I have to make it early in the day or the night before.

Now comes the blueberry coulis recipe. You’ll blend the blueberries until you have as much juice from them as possible. I don’t have a blender as of this moment, so I heated them up in the microwave and smashed them with a fork until I was able to get enough juice out of them.

You’ll then pass it through a strainer into a cup. I didn’t have the best strainer, so I ended up getting the small little seeds in my coulis. However, it still turned out great!

Then add lemon (or lime) juice and sugar to it, mix it, put it in the microwave for about a minute and let it chill in the fridge.

Now you don’t have to do it immediately after making the panna cotta, but if the coulis is warm/hot when you pour it over the cold dessert, it will start to melt. But if you’re a quick eater, then I suppose this doesn’t matter.

Once you’ve found that the panna cotta is set, use a knife to carefully scrape the sides and detach it from the mold or cup (or just eat it in the dish and save yourself the hassle).

And there you have it! A delicious and easy dessert that’s great for impressing friends and family or sharing with yourself!

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Blueberry Coulis

An easy to make panna cotta that’ll impress your guests.

Serves 3-5 people
Prep Time: 5 Minutes (panna cotta left overnight in the fridge)
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 15 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 c heavy whipping cream
• 1 c whole milk
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. unflavored gelatin
• 2 tbs. boiling water

• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 tsp. sugar
• A few drops of lemon (or lime) juice

Instructions

1. Pour the cream, milk, and vanilla into sauce pan and heat on high.
2. Once it starts to boil, add the sugar and stir until it’s dissolved completely.
3. Set pan aside and heat two tablespoons of water in the microwave for a minute (or until it boils), then add the gelatin and mix until there are no more traces left.
4. Add the gelatin mixture to the cream mixture and stir.
5. Pour into a small dish such as a ramekin, cup, or silicone cupcake mold.
6. Put in fridge and let it set for 8 hours or overnight.

7. Blend blueberries until you’ve extracted most of their juice (or heat in microwave and mash with a fork).
8. Pass the blueberry puree through a fine strainer and discard any of the skins and seeds.
9. Add the sugar and lime juice to the coulis and set in fridge with panna cotta.

10. Take both out once the panna cotta has set, pour the blueberry coulis over the vanilla panna cotta, and serve to friends (or yourself).

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