Easy Salted Caramel Panna Cotta With Praline - Recipe Winners (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between creme brulee and panna cotta? ›

Unlike creme brulee, eggs are not used to thicken the mixture for panna cotta. Instead, gelatin is added before the mixture comes to a boil. It is then strained, poured into moulds and frozen till it sets. The cream is usually infused with vanilla or other flavourings before it is mixed with the other ingredients.

Making matters worse is the fact that there are so many different types of gelatin, it's hard to say just how much of any one type to add. That's why most recipes call for way more gelatin than needed, which makes the Panna Cotta hard.

These days, indulgent restaurant desserts usually share the stage with a healthier fruit component. If you see it, opt for panna cotta—a light, eggless custard—instead of crème brûlée, and a seasonal fruit crisp or tart rather than cheesecake or anything warm and chocolate.

Panna cotta means “cooked cream” in Italy, and that's essentially what the base is: heated heavy cream (often with a little half-and-half or whole milk) set with powdered gelatin and flavored with vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.

Panna cotta can always be the right dessert — whether you're throwing a fancy party or a small one, have lots of time or no time, are gluten-free, dairy-free, allergy-prone, vegan, or simply craving a delicious and creamy sweet. It's perfect.

A perfect panna cotta only has JUST ENOUGH gelatin to hold the cream mixture together. This means that the texture is really jiggly. Too much gelatin and the panna cotta has more of a jello-like consistency. Too little gelatin and the panna cotta won't set properly and you got a recipe for disaster in your hands.

The finished dessert is usually unmolded for a nice plate presentation and served with fruit or a fruit sauce, but can just as easily be made and served in small, clear plastic cups which are ideal for transporting to a dinner party or a picnic.

Similar in texture to an Italian panna cotta, crème caramel is actually made without the addition of gelatin or starches: the eggs will thicken the mixture themselves and, with gentle and careful cooking, will give you a perfect texture, smooth and compact, but at the same time enveloping and velvety.

Crème brûlée or crème brulée (/ˌkrɛm bruːˈleɪ/; French pronunciation: [kʁɛm bʁy. le]), also known as burnt cream or Trinity cream, and virtually identical to crema catalana, is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hardened caramelized sugar.

The main difference being, bavarois is made using a crème anglaise (english custard) base, i.e. bavarois contains egg yolks whereas panna cotta does not and hence makes an apt vegetarian option.

What is another name for panna cotta? ›

Blancmange is sometimes thickened with gelatin or isinglass, and sometimes with cornstarch. Panna cotta is sometimes called a custard, but true custard is thickened with egg yolks, not gelatin.