On my quest this week to find the ultimate Valentine’s Day dessert, I happened upon an Ina Garten recipe on Food Network. Chocolate is always so popular on Valentine’s Day, but I wanted to find something a little different that packed the same WOW factor as all the decadent chocolate desserts plastering the pages of Pinterest over the last few weeks. This Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries Sauce recipe is a  real show stopper. Having never made Panna Cotta before, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The tangy sweet Balsamic Strawberry sauce is the perfect accompaniment to the rich and creamy Panna Cotta custard.
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I’ve been eager to use these cute heart shaped ramekins that my daughter picked up from William-Sonoma a few years back. But if you don’t have heart ramekins any shape will do just fine.
Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries is the ultimate Valentine’s Day date night recipe!
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Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries Sauce
ingredients:
1/2 packet (1 teaspoon) unflavored gelatin powder
1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
2 pints (4 cups) sliced fresh strawberries
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated lemon zest, for serving
directions:
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin on 1 1/2 tablespoons of cold water. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to dissolve.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup of the cream, the yogurt, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds. Heat the remaining 3/4 cup of cream and the 1/3 cup of sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Off the heat, add the softened gelatin to the hot cream and stir to dissolve. Pour the hot cream-gelatin mixture into the cold cream-yogurt mixture and stir to combine. Pour into 4 (6 to 8-ounce) ramekins or custard cups and refrigerate uncovered until cold. When the panna cottas are thoroughly chilled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Combine the strawberries, balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, and pepper 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving. Set aside at room temperature.
To serve, run a small knife around each dessert in the ramkein and dip the bottom of each ramekin quickly in a bowl of hot tap water. Invert each ramekin onto a dessert plate and surround the panna cotta with strawberries. Dust lightly with freshly grated lemon zest and serve.
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That little bit of grated lemon zest grated over the top adds a wonderful new level of flavor! I don’t recommend skipping that step.
Original Recipe Source
Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries
Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries is the ultimate Valentine's Day date night recipe!
Ingredients
- 1/2 packet (1 teaspoon) unflavored gelatin powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
- 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
- 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
- 2 pints (4 cups) sliced fresh strawberries
- 2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated lemon zest, for serving
Instructions
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin on 1 1/2 tablespoons of cold water. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to dissolve.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup of the cream, the yogurt, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds. Heat the remaining 3/4 cup of cream and the 1/3 cup of sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Off the heat, add the softened gelatin to the hot cream and stir to dissolve. Pour the hot cream-gelatin mixture into the cold cream-yogurt mixture and stir to combine. Pour into 4 (6 to 8-ounce) ramekins or custard cups and refrigerate uncovered until cold. When the panna cottas are thoroughly chilled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Combine the strawberries, balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, and pepper 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving. Set aside at room temperature.
To serve, run a small knife around each dessert in the ramkein and dip the bottom of each ramekin quickly in a bowl of hot tap water. Invert each ramekin onto a dessert plate and surround the panna cotta with strawberries. Dust lightly with freshly grated lemon zest and serve.
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I have always wanted to try making panna cotta! Yours looks incredible, especially with the berries!
Yes please! OH my goodness this looks so good!!!!
This looks like an easy to make recipe perfect for valentine.
Never tried balsamic with strawberries…hmm…
How cute are those dishes! I’ve never made panna cotta but love the smooth texture. I’m going to try and make these for the kids for Valentine’s day.
I am curious about the balsamic strawberries. I have both in the house now…I think I will give it a try.
How cute! Perfect for Valentine’s Day!
Ooh this looks really good. I might have to give it a try.
Wow this sounds interesting!
Oh my those look good. I can never get my panna cotta to turn out as firm as yours.
Huh, not sure if I have ever had panna cotta. Sounds really good and they LOOK ADORABLE!!!!
I will take one! Or all of them. lol. They look delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
That looks so good! I bet the flavors are amazing together!
Love Ina Garten recipes — I’ve never had one fail me!
I like a panna cotta during the summer on occasion
Not only does it look delicious but it looks pretty too!
Oh yessss please! I want this NOW!
i love all things with balsamic. its a favorite flavor of mine!
Now that looks good. I love chocolate but this is so much more unique and flavorful.
I’ve never had panna cotta but these look so amazing!
That looks really good! 🙂
I love the pictures. It looks really good. Very festive!
I LOVE pannacotta! I had to pin this. It looks so utterly delicious. I want to eat it now.
I think I will make this tomorrow! I have been craving strawberries.
I never even knew what Panna Cotta was. This sounds really good though. Maybe we’ll give it a try. Thanks! 🙂
Those are simply adorable ramekins! I am a fan of Ina’s recipes, and I may have to add this one to my list. I have a set of ramekins from our crates of wedding presents; this would be an excuse to break them in.
Yum! I can honestly say I have never had panna cotta, but it sounds and looks delicious.
Yummy! I hadn’t heard of this dish either and it looks great. Thank you for sharing it!
Drooling. Drooling. Drooling. Yes, please! This looks really tasty!
YES! This looks absolutely divine! Thank you for the recipe!
I’ve never made nor even tasted panna cotta, but I’m quite sure I’d like it!
My husband recently received an upscale sweet balsamic as a gift. This would be such a great recipe to use it in and it looks delicious!
Oh yum. And the presentation is so festive for February!
I love balsamic and strawberries, but I’ve never made panna cotta before… this is on my to try soon list!
Looks amazing and so perfect for Valentine’s Day!
Never had panna cotta but I do enjoy balsamic strawberries! Love how colorful your dessert is!
Oh wow. That looks amazing. I have to try it.
It looks amazing! I don’t think I have ever made anything like this before.
It sounds really Valentine perfect to me. I want to scoop a spoonful up immediately.
This looks so festive and a great dish to enjoy with my husband on Valentine’s Day! Looks delicious!
That looks delicious. I’ve always been a little intimidated to make Panna Cotta, I don’t have a lot of patience when it comes to making food LOL!
That looks really refreshing. I love desserts with strawberries.
That looks amazing! I love balsamic on my strawberries!
YUM!! I have never had Panna Cotta but it sounds really good!!!
This is one dessert I have never tried to make. It looks so good! I wonder if it would work with fat free half & half and low fat yogurt to cut down on the fat and calories?
Such a great alternative to chocolate. These look delicious. The pics are great too. Thanks for sharing. I definitely want to make these.
Carol L
I’ve only had panna cotta a couple of times at restaurants, but I absolutely love it. I will pin this recipe and try to make it at home.
This looks delicious!! I have hears about mixing strawberries with balsamic vinegar to really make the flavor pop, I cannot wait to try this. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
This looks amazing, thank you for sharing.
Have a lovely day and thank you very much for all that you do.
my daughter made this & it is so delish, thanks for a yummy recipe
What a festive dish and great for Mother’s day!
This looks wonderful! I’ve made a similar recipe before and loved it, the balsamic strawberries are so good! And I love those ramekins – so cute!
I love to eat panna cotta but I love to eat it. Maybe it’s time to start making it- this looks delicious!
A beautiful Valentine treat! Thanks for linking up with SNF! Pinned to our party board!
Perfect for Valentines Day! Love this! Thank you very much for joining in the celebration of #purebloglove, we enjoy having you each week. I hope to see you on Thursday at 8PM, EST through Sunday night. ~Cydnee
I’m a sucker for a good panna cotta. This looks delish! Thanks for linking up to Show Me Saturday.
Thank you for sharing at the Show Me Saturdays link up party, your project was featured! Hope to see you this week:) #showmesaturdays
~Be Sweet
Christina at
SWEET HAUTE
This dessert looks divine! And those heart ramekins are just perfect 🙂 Thanks for linking up with Merry Monday this week.
I have literally never thought about combining balsamic and strawberries together. Brilliant! It’s cute to boot! Thanks for linking up at the delicious dishes recipe party.