White Chocolate Panna Cotta

Silky smooth, creamy and with the solid wobble this White Chocolate Panna Cotta is the easiest way to make an impressive yet effortless dessert. Serve this rich chocolately dessert with pomegranate or fresh berries!

Panna cotta is a classic Italian dessert famous for its creamy and silky smooth texture and of course the glorious wobble.

When it comes to make ahead desserts this white chocolate panna cotta is always on top of our list. It's luxurious, elegant and tastes good

And if you LOVE milk or dark chocolate too (who doesn't) this rich and velvety dark chocolate panna cotta won't disappoint!

See the photo below that shows you all the ingredients you need plus a note on some substitutions.

• Milk – both half-fat (semi skimmed) and whole milk work well. Whole milk will give you a richer flavour.
• Heavy cream – must be full-fat, don't use any light version of cream.
• White chocolate – use a good quality white chocolate
• Caster Sugar – granulated will also work well
• Vanilla bean paste – or use 1 vanilla bean
• Unflavoured powdered Gelatin – please note that there are different forms of gelatin that have different prep instructions so always read your packet instructions. The gelatin powder we use can be added straight to the milk and cream but you may need to bloom your gelatin first. You can also use gelatin leaves (sheets) that need soaked first.

How to Make White Chocolate Panna Cotta – Step By Step

See our step-by-step photos below to give you a visual representation of the recipe. The full written recipe with our top tips can be found in the recipe card below.

1. Bring the milk and cream to a boil in a medium sized saucepan (photo 1).

1. Once boiling turn off the heat and add the white chocolate and sugar and stir until melted (photo 2-3).
2. Once melted, add the gelatin and whisk to avoid any lumps until dissolved (photo 4).
3. Pour the panna cotta into moulds or ramekins and leave to cool before putting them in the fridge. Leave them to chill for at least 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.
4. When you're ready to serve, bring the panna cottas out of the fridge and sit the moulds in a bowl of warm water (if serving in ramekins skip this step). Leave them for 1 minute then place on a serving plate and remove from the mould.

Serving suggestions

We love to serve this decadent dessert with pomegranate for a pop of colour and freshness.

You could also serve it with any fresh berries you like according to the season.

It's simple, easy and elegant suited to dinner parties or date night!

More Italian desserts to try

Italian Desserts

Vanilla Panna Cotta (classic recipe)

Italian Desserts

Chocolate Panna Cotta

Italian Desserts

Chocolate Budino (Budino al Cioccolato)

Italian Desserts

Chocolate Semifreddo Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

• 1 cup +1 tablespoon full fat milk ((8.5 fl oz/250ml))
• 1 cup +1 tablespoon heavy cream (double cream UK) ((8.5 fl oz/250ml))
• 2/3 cup/3.5oz good quality white chocolate ((100g))
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp caster sugar ((120g))
• 4 teaspoons gelatin powder ((12g))
• 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean

Method

Before starting

1. Please check if your gelatin needs bloomed first in some water, as not all types of gelatin can be added straight into the mixture. If so, do this first.

How to make it

1. Put the milk and cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil (watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't over boil). Once boiling turn off the heat and add the sugar and white chocolate, stir until dissolved and melted.

2. Once melted, add the gelatin and whisk any lumps until dissolved.

3. Pour the panna cotta into moulds or ramekins and set aside to cool. Once cooled, place in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

4. When you're ready to serve bring the panna cottas out of the fridge and sit the moulds in a bowl of warm water (if serving in ramekins skip this step).

5. Leave them for 30-60 seconds, then place on a serving plate and remove from the mould. Serve with pomegranate or fresh berries.

Kitchen notes

• Gelatin forms always check your packet instructions on how to prep your gelatin. The gelatin we use can be added straight to liquid but some powdered gelatin must be bloomed first. If using gelatin leaves (sheets) they usually need soaked first.
• Amount of gelatin make sure you stick to the amount of gelatin in the recipe, if you add too much it'll set too firm.
• If using gelatin leaves You can replace the gelatin powder with 3 gelatin leaves.
• Moulds We used pandoro shaped moulds but you can use any shape you like. You can also pour the panna cotta into ramekins and serve them as they are.
• Vanilla We love using vanilla bean paste but you can use a whole vanilla bean instead. Scrape out all the vanilla and add it to the milk along with the whole bean then discard before pouring the panna cotta into moulds.
• Storage The panna cotta will last 3-5 days in the fridge and is great for prepping ahead of time.
• We don't recommend freezing panna cotta.