Blood orange panna cotta
A citrus-y take on a beloved classic! This blood orange panna cotta is layered with a blood orange jelly – a perfect (and very pretty!) dessert that is so easy to make.
Now it’s no secret that I love panna cotta, and this version with my favourite citrus fruit really ticks a lot of boxes for me. It’s spring here in Australia and we’re in the peak of the very fleeting blood orange season – they’re such an incredible citrus fruit, with a beautiful ruby red colour, floral notes and a take that’s reminiscent of orange, raspberries and cherries combined. If you haven’t tried one before, now is the time. I honestly can’t get enough of them.
This dessert is effectively made up of two components; a blood orange juice jelly and the panna cotta itself. Both are made quickly with minimal ingredients, you just need a bit of time management to ensure the jelly layer is set before you add the panna cotta.
Of course you don’t need to invert this onto a plate, but it does look very pretty with that gorgeous red top when you do. I’ll pop some notes below for how to reverse engineer this if you just want to serve it in the mould, and have the jelly side facing up.
Why I love this blood orange panna cotta
- Deceptively easy to make – it’s really a matter of mixing and warming some ingredients, then everything sets in the fridge. An impressive dessert with absolutely zero skill required!
- Beautiful layered dessert – inverting the panna cotta onto a plate reveals a vibrant ruby red blood orange jelly layer, paired with a creamy panna cotta base.
- Epic prep ahead dessert – perfect for dinner parties, you can make these hours in advance then all you need to do is serve!
- No fancy tools required – all you need really is something to stir it all with!
Ingredients you’ll need to make it
- Blood oranges – these are an incredible citrus fruit with a short season that come into their prime in late winter/early spring.
- Gelatine leaves – titanium grade, I use this brand. I weigh what I need with a digital scale (you can just cut the leaves down to what you need for each component!).
- Sugar – caster sugar is used to slightly sweeten both the jelly and panna cotta layers.
- Milk – whole/full cream milk is ideal here – it results in such a luxurious texture!
- Cream – with a minimum fat content of 35%.
- Vanilla bean paste – you can also use the seeds from one vanilla pod if you like, but vanilla bean paste tastes fantastic and is typically more cost effective if you cook with it frequently!
Blood orange panna cotta
Equipment
- 4 ramekins or moulds that can hold approx 125ml
Ingredients
Blood orange jelly
- Juice of two blood oranges – approx 150ml
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 g gelatine leaf
Panna cotta
- Zest of 1 blood orange
- 30 g caster sugar
- 150 ml milk
- 150 ml cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 4 g gelatine leaf
Instructions
Blood orange jelly
- Soak 2g gelatine leaf in cold water for 5 minutes.
- Zest one blood orange, and use your fingers to rub the zest together with the 30g sugar for the panna cotta – set aside.
- Meanwhile, juice the two oranges to yield approximately 150ml and combine with 1 tbsp sugar and gently heat in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved.
- Remove the pan from the heat, then add the softened gelatine to the blood orange juice mixture and stir to dissolve.
- Strain through a sieve and into four ramekins or moulds – then chill for a couple of hours until set.
Panna cotta
- While it’s setting, you can make the panna cotta itself – combine the milk, cream, blood orange zest/sugar mixture and vanilla to a saucepan and gently heat until it’s just starting to boil, then turn the heat off and allow the mixture to steep for 5 minutes.
- While it’s steeping, soak 4g gelatine leaf in cold water to soften.
- Squeeze out excess water from the gelatin leaf then add directly to the hot milk mixture – stir until dissolved.
- Strain the liquid into a bowl set over a larger bowl filled with iced water, stirring frequently over 15 minutes until it cools and thickens slightly.
- Pour into the ramekins with the blood orange jelly, and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.
- To serve, use a knife to gently and carefully pull the panna cotta away from the mould and break any air seal, then invert the mould onto a plate. You can use a blow torch to help release the panna cotta, or alternatively briefly submerge the base of the mould in hot water before inverting onto a plate.
