An easy strawberry panna cotta recipe with pistachio. A real crowd pleaser that's great for parties, it's also a handy gluten free dessert to have in your repertoire.
The combination of pistachio and strawberry in a dessert works so well. Enjoy them together in a pistachio tart, plus with vanilla and coconut pairings in this pistachio ice cream - with or without the wasabi!
However, when put together in this easy panna cotta recipe, it's bliss and quick to prepare. It's a great party dessert for entertaining a crowd or a dinner party. So, while it's chilling for 3 hours, you can get on with other things.
What is Panna Cotta?
Panna Cotta is a chilled Italian dessert, meaning literally a 'cooked cream'. The cream is heated and infused with vanilla or some kind of flavour and a little sugar.
Like a French bavarois (Bavarian Cream), it's set with the help of gelatine sheets and chilled. The difference with a bavarois, however, is that it uses more fruit purée.
It's again different to a strawberry mousse, which doesn't cook the cream - instead a mousse uses chilled whipped cream, egg whites and often gelatine.
How is Panna Cotta Different to Crème Brûlée?
Although both panna cotta and crème brûlée are chilled creamy desserts, they are both different in the way how the creams are set.
A panna cotta is set by mixing in gelatine to the warmed cream. Conversely, a crème brûlée's basic cream is set by making a custard using egg yolks then cooked in a low heated oven. Once chilled to set further, the crème brûlée is topped with sugar and scorched to create a crackling top. The panna cotta is topped with a fruit purée.
Panna Cotta Recipe Ingredients (with gelatin sheets)
A panna cotta cream requires just 4 ingredients. Normally made with cream, sugar, gelatin (or gelatine) sheets (@ 2g each) and vanilla, these are made lighter by replacing a little cream with whole milk.
Gelatin Sheets vs Powder and Agar-Agar
In this recipe, I use gelatin(e) sheets @2g each with a 200-225 bloom, which is the standard in our supermarkets. For 500ml/half litre (2 cups) of fluid, use 3 gelatine sheets (6g). If you can only find powder, it's the same ratio (according to packet instructions). For 6g of gelatin sheets, use 6g of powder. (See FAQ for more).
Although the ratio is the same for sheets and powder, their preparation method is slightly different.
- For gelatin sheets, soak in cold water for about 10 minutes, then squeeze out the excess water and stir into the hot cream.
- For gelatin powder, stir it into a small bowl of 3 tablespoons cold water and leave to gel for 2-3 minutes. Add this to the hot cream (not boiling).
You could use Agar-Agar, which is vegan as made into powder from red seaweed. The dosage is much less (2g for 500ml/half litre/2 cups). However, I find it gummier as a texture. Personally we much prefer the creamier yet set result using gelatine sheets. Incidentally, I found this interesting information on gelatine's history.
Best Pistachios to Use for Desserts
Use unsalted pistachios for baking. Ideally, find the best deal and quality but, if you can, go for European pistachios. The top, la crème de la crème, are either Sicilian Bronte pistachios, Iranian, Green or Turkish.
Although pistachio paste is easy to find on the internet and in specialist baking shops, making your own is so much better. Even in France, many brands use synthetic aromas and far too much sugar. So the result using homemade gives the dessert a more natural taste - and pops with flavour.
If you use bought pistachio paste, use no more than 1 tablespoon. With this homemade pistachio paste, I like to up the dose to 2 tablespoons.
How to Make a Panna Cotta with Pistachio
To make a pistachio panna cotta, heat the cream and milk with the sugar, pistachio paste and melt in the gelatine sheets (squeezed from the water).
Pour into glass dishes or yoghurt pots and leave to cool for about 15 minutes. Then chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
How to Make the Strawberry Panna Cotta Topping
Once the creams are just about set, prepare the strawberry coulis. It all depends on the types of strawberries used. If yours are naturally very sweet, then there's no need to add sugar. Otherwise, add a tablespoon for more acidic varieties and whizz them up in a blender.
I used the same blender I made the pistachio paste in, just to get all the flavours in there! Once mixed, taste and adjust the sugar if it needs more. Take out about 3 tablespoons of the coulis, heat it and add the squeezed gelatine sheet.
Top on the creams and chill for a further hour.
For varieties, including their acidity and sweetness,
see the guide to French strawberries
Mini Panna Cottas for a Crowd: Variations
Panna cottas are excellent for parties, served in small verrine or shot glasses. Here are some variations with different toppings, based on the recipe below:
- To make a raspberry coulis, simply weigh out the raspberries as strawberries and follow the recipe below.
- Pistachio panna cotta with a hint of cardamom and sour cherries. Just add one gelatin sheet to this cherry sauce.
- Pistachio panna cotta with mango - make mango sauce and add a gelatine sheet like in the coulis recipe below.
- White chocolate panna cottas with rose - top with the strawberry coulis below or a rhubarb compote.
How to Serve
Panna cottas go so well with pistachio macarons (recipe in my first book, Mad About Macarons),keeping the dessert a completely gluten free recipe.
Otherwise they're also delicious with many small French biscuits, such as tuile cookies or almond financier cakes.
Strawberry Panna Cotta with Pistachio
Ingredients
Pistachio Creams
- 3 @2g gelatin sheets or 6g of gelatin powder - see NOTES
- 350 ml (12fl oz/ 1½ cups) heavy/whipping cream (30% fat) crème fleurette in France*
- 150 ml (5fl oz/ ½ cup) whole milk
- 45 g (3 tbsp) caster sugar (superfine)
- 1-2 tablespoon pistachio paste *see recipe below (use less if using store-bought)
- 3 drops pistachio or almond extract
Strawberry Coulis
- 1 @2g gelatin sheet
- 150 g (5½ oz) strawberries
- 15 g (1 tbsp) caster sugar (superfine) or to taste (no need if strawberries are extra sweet)
Instructions
Pistachio Creams
- Soak the 3 gelatine leaves in cold water for 10 minutes.
- Heat the cream, milk, sugar and pistachio paste in a saucepan. Once heated through, squeeze the gelatine of excess water and stir it into the warm cream until melted. Add the pistachio extract then pour into serving glasses.
- Cool for 15 minutes then chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Strawberry Coulis
- Just before the creams are set, prepare the coulis. Soak the gelatine in cold water for 10 minutes. Whizz together the strawberries and sugar (if using) in a blender or food processor. Microwave 3 tablespoon of the coulis in a small dish on high for 30 seconds, and stir in the gelatine to melt (squeezed of excess water). Add to the rest of the coulis.
- Set aside to cool and when the creams are set, pour on the coulis and chill further in the fridge for about an hour.
Notes
Gelatine Sheets vs Powder
If using gelatine powder, the ratio is the same but preparation is slightly different. In a small bowl, stir in 3 tablespoon of cold water and leave to gel for only 2-3 minutes. Add to the hot cream (not boiling) as above.Panna Cotta for a Party
This recipe fills 8 party verrine glasses or mini glass yoghurt pots, so makes 157 calories per party size serving.This post was first published September 14 2014 but is now completely updated, including with the pistachio paste recipe on its own.
Peggy
Hi would love to make panna cotta recipe,but can’t find geletin sheets only the geletine as powder can I stir make this recipe tks peggy
Jill Colonna
Hi Peggy,
Of course you can make this with gelatine powder. Thanks so much for mentioning this, as I've updated the recipe to include how to make it using gelatine sheets or powder, including the option of Agar-Agar. Hope this helps! Powder has the same ratio as sheets, but the preparation is slightly different - see the recipe notes I've updated for you. Jill x
Em
Hi! I love panna cotta, but hard to find Where I live,(Miami, USA), So I’ll have to try making it myself. Your recipe sounds wonderful as I love everything in your ingredients. However, I need a little help with some of the ingredients that I need to find here. I hope you forgive my ignorance , but what is crème fleurette? I think I can Get The Other ingredients. Thank you so much if you’re able to reply.
Jill Colonna
Hi Em,
So happy you like this. No excuses - it's confusing on both sides of the pond at times! I've marked French crème fleurette in the recipe as whipping cream - but is that not right in the USA? If that's the case, use heavy whipping cream, if that helps. You're looking at 30-35% fat (it's balanced using some whole milk too). If it helps, I've compiled this list of equivalents of French-UK-USA baking/cooking terms. Hope this helps!
Enrique
Hi It's delicious but I'm supouse that pistachio panna cotta combine whit raspberry coulis that i can use the amount strawberry instead in the recipe.
Jill Colonna
Hi Enrique,
Yes, no problem in replacing the strawberry coulis with raspberry. Another dream team with pistachio!
Purabi Naha | Cosmopolitan Currymania
Your macarons are a pleasure to watch. They look perfect and I am sure they taste as good! Loved the panna cotta with these lovely macarons.
June S
I need a baci macaron and a trip to France. Enjoy following your recommended places to travel.
Jennifer B
Love reading about all your adventures and pictures of macarons, Jill.
Thomasina
Nothing wrong with pretending to be an opera singer Jill or even embarrassing your children. I've done both many a time. Would sure like to follow you on your travels though. I love Italy and macarons and panna cotta and ice cream and .... all of the blog.
Jill
Thanks, Thomasina and Jamie - fun to hear we have the same tastes, including embarrassing the kids!
Jamie
Ha you are so funny. But I like that you go to another stunning location and yet mostly think of ice cream. We do need to travel together! And excellent flavor choices! And you know, I have wanted to make pistachio panna cotta but never had. Now I need to go buy pistachio paste and make this! Yours are just stunning with the strawberry coulis!
Jill
Liz, you're welcome to pop in any time! Mardi, glad to hear I'm not alone for having a weak spot with Baci chocolates (the best part are the wee messages inside...) and Jean-Pierre - glad to hear you're making these panna cottas. Do try and get good pistachios for them, if you can.
Jean-Pierre D
It has been a while since I made panna cotta. I forgot how easy it looks - thanks for the shove, Jill. Susa? Hadn't heard of this place before so loved the tour!
Mardi (eat. live. travel. write.)
Oh Jill, YUMMMM! Bacis are (and have always been) one of my fave chocs. And paired with this panna cottta? Heaven!
Liz
Wow, the architecture is amazing! I need to get to Susa one day 🙂 And I'd also love to stop at your place for lunch if this is the sort of spread I'd find. What a lovely little side trip you took.