Peaches and Cream Panna Cotta

This who subscribe to my newsletter may recognize that glass bowl holding the peaches! 


This is my first panna cotta. This is also my recipe. Yup, I have been a mad scientist in the kitchen lately. Why? Everybody seems to make the same type of panna cotta (which sounds a bit boring) and I really wanted to take advantage of peaches being in season right now. Who does not love peaches and cream?

My inspiration started here:

I found this mold for $1 at a thrift store. Right after I picked it up I stopped by the grocery store and purchased ingredients I thought would go into a panna cotta. Then I went home and started to experiment.

I could have just put the peaches into a food processor with some juice and sugar but I was worried that the sugar would not dissolve so instead I made my own peach syrup. It is easy! I sliced up five very large peaches and did not bother removing the skins. I put in 3/4 cup of sugar and 1 cup of V8 V-Fusion Peach Mango Juice. You can use any peach-flavoured drink you have.

Get a package of gelatin (1 tbsp) and put in a little bowl. Add 1-2 tbsp of the peach juice to it and let stand until it softens.

To get the peaches to soften I brought everything to a boil, turned down the heat, covered and let cook 10 minutes. Be careful though, it can boil over so not too hot!

I got out my food mill and used the medium blade. If you do not have a food mill, just use a food processor and then push the juice out through a strainer.

Gently and slowly bring 3/4 cup of whipping cream to a boil. Take off the heat and then add gelatin. Stir to dissolve. This is the part I always screw up. The cream definitely has to be very hot in order to dissolve the gelatin but it boils over easily so keep an eye on it. Gelatin must be not be cooked directly so stir in off the element. When the gelatin has dissolved then whisk in the peach syrup.

Pour into your lightly oiled mold. This make enough panna cotta for a pretty large mold. I had extra so I put the rest in pretty containers. Put in the fridge and let set at least eight hours. I let it sit overnight. The next day I dipped the ramekins in hot water for a few seconds but the panna cotta would not unmold. Thankfully the mold I bought was a great conductor of heat. It took a couple of tries but it finally came out:

You could always make a peach and mango sauce to go with this dish. I had no idea if the recipe was going to work at all so I didn’t bother. Thankfully it turned out beautifully! The flavour is a stunning light peaches and cream dream team that melts in your mouth.

When you analyze the basic idea of a panna cotta, it appears to be a more adult version of jello with cooked cream. I just incorporated a fruit flavour that is a natural combination with cream but you could try making this with all sorts of fruit.

It is fun to play in the kitchen. Thankfully this time was not a disaster!