This light Lemon Panna Cotta is the perfect early spring dessert, it’s no-bake, super simple, and easy to adjust for dairy free and vegan!
I knew one of the first things I was going to make once the weather turned warm was a lemon panna cotta. I discovered it last year and fell in love with the smooth, silky texture. Panna cotta, or cooked cream, is an old treat from the mountains of northern Italy, where the cream is so spectacular it’s been eaten as a dessert all by itself for generations. This lemon version is super tangy with the zest and juice of 2 lemons. It’s the perfect backdrop for a cluster of fresh fruit and an edible blossom or two, and therefore the perfect dessert for an occasion like Mother’s Day, a spring shower, or a just because romantic dinner.
I dug out my mini cookie and fondant cutters for this, and the thinly sliced pieces of papaya, below, made beautiful little flowers and butterflies to scatter among the berries. Use slices of melon, mango, kiwi, banana, whatever you like. You can find these cute little sets in cooking stores, discount department stores, or here online. These little touches turn a plain lemon panna cotta into a celebration-worthy dessert.
But even though I lavished attention on the fruit garnish, the flavor of this lemon panna cotta stands on its own. I would be totally happy with a little pot of it all by itself. You know me, I’m not happy unless I’m going all the way with whatever flavor I’m playing with, so there’s nothing wishy-washy about the lemon presence here. The zest of 2 lemons begins the process as it infuses the essence of lemon into the cream and milk. Then the juice of both lemons goes in, followed by a dose of lemon extract.
The panna cotta can be made ahead of time so all you have to do is assemble the fruit at the last minute. This could be made into a beautiful tart with a graham cracker crust, and I also like it poured into small jam jars and garnished with a simple wedge of lemon and a sprig of mint. It can be rustic, or elegant, depending on how you present it.
Panna Cotta is a no bake dessert, and it’s one of the easiest of them all. It basically consists of heating cream and milk, and adding gelatin. That’s about the extent of it. Once it sets up in the refrigerator, it’s done.
For vegan lemon panna cotta, substitute full fat coconut milk for the dairy cream and milk. You can use agar-agar, a seaweed derived gelatin substitute, in place of the gelatin.
Use 1 tsp powdered agar (for 1 envelope gelatin)
- Whisk into milk/cream
- Bring to a full boil*, simmer 1–2 min
- Remove from heat, add lemon
- Pour + chill
*Note: agar must boil to set.
If you cover your lemon panna cotta well, this can sit in the fridge for a couple of days before you serve it. Don’t add the fruit until you are ready to serve, and be sure to serve it cold, because gelatin will soften as it comes to room temperature. If you haven’t had panna cotta, I highly recommend it, not only for the ease of preparation, but because it has a unique cool silky texture and can be flavored in a million ways. It makes a very elegant presentation with hardly any effort!
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Lemon Panna Cotta
Ingredients
- the zest and juice of 2 lemons, about 1/4 cup juice
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 envelope powdered gelatin, 7 grams or 2 1/4 teaspoons
- 1/4 tsp lemon extract, optional
Instructions
- Wash the lemons well. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the rinds from the lemons. You only want the yellow part, not the bitter white.
- Pour the cream and milk into a saucepan and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Add the lemon rinds and heat just until it almost comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Strain the cream mixture and return it to the pan.
- Pour 1/4 cup cold water into a small cup and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let sit for 5 minutes to soften.
- Reheat the cream mixture to just below a simmer. Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatin until completely dissolved.
- Let the mixture cool for about 5 minutes, then stir in the lemon juice and extract.
- Pour into jars or cups and refrigerate until set, 2–3 hours. Serve cold with berries, fruit, or edible flowers.
- Serve cold.
Nutrition
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Wonderful spring recipe! I have made this four times now and it is a complete hit with everyone who tries it. I garnished with fresh blueberries and strands of lemon marmalade twice on once with fresh raspberries and the marmalade. Makes for a lovely presentation and the lemon marmalade strands add an extra zest!
One question, the second time I made it, it curdled badly when I added the lemon juice to the dairy mixture. What might have caused that? Was the dairy too warm or something else? I strained it and was able to salvage it well enough to eat but I would definitely not have served it to guests. Any insight would be appreciated!
So glad you’ve enjoyed this so much Gail. I’ve actually moved the lemon juice to step six in the recipe, this small tweak will help prevent curdling in the future. And yes, if the cream mixture is too hot, or the lemon juice is added too quickly, it can occasionally curdle. Adding it after the gelatin prevents this.
Thank you so much for this info. Most helpful! I encourage everyone to try this delicious recipe!
A new fav for my dairy free crowd! Used coconut milk & cream but the coconut flavor disappeared.
Hi,
Today was my 14th wedding anniversary (Ivory in the UK).
I’m currently furloughed but my husband is working so I’ve been indulging in some proper cooking while I’ve got time (and growing my own veg).
We’ve been on a vegan diet since November and, long story short, because of lockdown we couldn’t even have a walk and pub meal like we usually would, if not a restaurant meal, so I decided to make something.
Packet Minestrone soup to start and then mushroom, lentil and spinach linguine Bolognese for main.
I had to change my idea for pudding three times due to ingredients not being available in our local supermarket, and decided to adapt your recipe.
I’m not great at following recipes per se, so I
made a lemon and lime Panna Cotta.
Two lemons and one small lime. I couldn’t get lemon extract, so added the juice of a third lemon. I also used maple syrup (about 2 tablespoons) instead of sugar and a 400ml tin of full fat coconut milk. I used 1 sachet of Dr Oetker Vege-Gel to set it. The mixture did 6 puddings and tipped out of their settings really easily to be served with black forest fruits (previously frozen), 70% dark chocolate bits and a couple of sprigs of mint.
Thanks for the inspiration. My first vegan pudding made…and I hadn’t even made the dairy version previously.
Thanks Justine, and Happy Anniversary!
Hi,
What is the measurement of 1 envelope please.
Thanks,
Your presentation is just beautiful…perfect for Easter or Mother’s Day. I’m pinning.
I’ll be making this for my mom’s Birthday, she is going to love this!
Lovely lemon flavour and great texture.
Just the right amount of ‘jiggle’
great recipe
thank you
Thanks Sharmila, panna cotta has such a fun texture, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
What would the measurement for agar agar