Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Strawberry Coulis and Fresh Berries

 

This is the third post on my blog featuring panna cotta but I think it might be the best tasting one yet.  My friend Maria recently hosted a pre-4th of July bbq at her house and I volunteered to bring the dessert.  Knowing that the main lunch was going to be heavy on proteins, think steak and sausages, I wanted to end the meal with something that was delicious, light and refreshing.    Cue this Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Strawberry Coulis and Fresh Berries.

 

 

The recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated and couldn't be simpler to make with heavy cream, buttermilk and unflavored gelatin.  My favorite way to serve panna cotta is in mini Weck jars, a dessert presentation I first learned from Ad Hoc restaurant.   Sometimes panna cotta can have a rubber-y texture if there's too much gelatin used, but you won't have that issue with this version.  The cooked cream is silky smooth with just the right amount of firmness.   Delicioso!

 

The recommended way to finish off the dessert is to drizzle the top with honey before topping with fresh berries.   Since I had an abundance of San Joaquin Valley strawberries from my hometown on hand I decided to make a coulis instead.   The strawberry sauce tasted absolutely delicious with the panna cotta and berries.   I'm planning to bring the mini panna cotta to a 4th of July outdoor concert and picnic.  

Buttermilk Panna Cotta

A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit dear friends in Seoul.  It was the middle of August and the humidity and heat were pretty unbearable.  Luckily we had guests passes to the fantastic pool at the Grand Hyatt and used the facilities quite often.  

After a day of swimming and sunbathing my favorite thing to do was visit the on-site hotel bakery and buy their delicious panna cotta, served in these adorable glass jars.  The cool and creamy cooked cream covered with fruit coulis was the perfect way to beat the heat.  

My version of panna cotta includes buttermilk in the recipe. The slight tang of the buttermilk beautifully complements the jam topping.   It's the perfect light dessert to enjoy this summer!

P.S. The jars in the photos are the ones I collected from my Seoul trip...I ate my fair share of panna cotta!

Blackberry Buttermilk Panna Cotta

I don't know about you but I'm a bit of a Costco fanatic.  I just love the place, which can be a really dangerous (and expensive!) habit.  My friend Grace and I have, on many an occasion, made the trek there during our lunch break from work.   We're crazy like that.

    

For someone like me it's a great place to stock up on baking staples.  I buy unsalted butter there like it's going out of fashion.  On my last trip they had some amazing blackberries that were cheap as chips.  So of course I ended up buying way too many...over a kilo to be exact. 

    

You can bet that I was searching high and low for blackberry recipes because I hated the thought of the berries going to waste. I found this one for blackberry buttermilk panna cotta on epicurious.com.  Luckily I had all the ingredients in my fridge so it came together really quickly.  

These panna cotta are super creamy and refreshing, with the slightest tang from the buttermilk.  They are fabulous topped with mixed berries - a perfect light and fruity dessert to end any meal.

Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies

This month's Daring Bakers' challenge brought back wonderful memories of Lake Como for me.   My friends and I travelled there to attend our friend Christine's summer wedding in the charming town of Varenna.

You can't imagine how breathtakingly beautiful this place was - right out of a postcard.   Sun, lake and amazing Italian food...what could be better?  Unfortunately no sightings of George Clooney!

The best panna cotta I've ever had was at the restaurant of the hotel where we stayed, Hotel Villa Cipressi.  Creamy and silky smooth with lots of fresh berries -  I practically licked the glass clean it was so delicious.  This version comes pretty close - all that's missing is the Italian scenery.

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.