Coffee Panna Cotta Recipe

Coffee panna cotta looks like a fancy restaurant dessert, but it's easy to make at home. This version has layers of vanilla cream and coffee cream, and you can make it the day before. It's perfect for a dinner party.

Coffee panna cotta recipe

Makes: 6 to 8 glasses
Time: about 45 minutes, plus at least 2 hours to set

Ingredients

• 600ml double cream
• 397g tin sweetened condensed milk
• 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out
• 50g caster sugar
• A pinch of sea salt
• 50g freshly ground coffee
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 x 7g sachet powdered gelatine (or 6 gelatine leaves)
• 4 tbsp water

For the top coffee layer (optional)

• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 120ml freshly brewed coffee
• ½ tsp powdered gelatine (or 1 gelatine leaf)
• 2 tsp water
• Chopped chocolate-covered coffee beans, to decorate

Method

1. Put the cream, condensed milk, vanilla pod and seeds, sugar and salt in a pan over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat, leave to infuse for 10 minutes, then remove the vanilla pod.
2. Pour half the cream into a second pan and whisk in the ground coffee and cocoa. Bring back to a simmer, then leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve lined with muslin or a coffee filter, and return to a clean pan.
3. Divide the gelatine between two small bowls and add 2 tbsp water to each. Leave for 5 minutes, then melt one bowl over a pan of simmering water.
4. Whisk the melted gelatine into the vanilla cream and pour into a jug. Cover and chill for about 20 minutes, until it just starts to thicken.
5. Melt the second bowl of gelatine the same way and whisk it into the coffee cream. Pour into a separate jug, cover and chill for about 20 minutes.
6. Pour a layer of vanilla cream into each glass and put the glasses in the freezer for about 5 minutes, until just set.
7. Pour over a layer of coffee cream and return to the freezer for 5 minutes. Repeat until both creams are used up. If either mix starts to set too firmly, leave it at room temperature for a few minutes.
8. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
9. For the top layer, stir the sugar into the brewed coffee. Soak the gelatine in the water for 5 minutes, melt it over simmering water, then stir it into the coffee. When it's cool but still pourable, pour a thin layer over each panna cotta. Chill for another hour, until set.

Serving tips

Serve in the glasses on small plates, topped with chopped chocolate-covered coffee beans, with a sponge finger or biscotti on the side. You can make your own chocolate-covered coffee beans too.

The better the coffee, the better the panna cotta. A freshly roasted speciality coffee gives a richer, rounder coffee flavour than instant.

More coffee desserts

• The perfect tiramisu
• 4-ingredient chocolate coffee mousse
• Coffee molten lava cake