But one thing I always do on Valentine’s is make something sweet. Last year I made a giant chocolate cake that, while incredibly delicious, was very tedious and time-consuming. This year I wanted to make something simple but elegant. So, I decided to make a blood orange panna cotta. This was my first time making panna cotta; I kept putting it off because for some reason I always thought it was a very temperamental dish to prepare, but once I looked into it I realized that it’s really not that much more difficult than making jello. Essentially: heat ingredients over stovetop, pour into a glass or ramekin, then chill and serve when gelled. I did, however, make it a bit more complicated by adding candied blood oranges to the mix again, but they’re just so darn beautiful and delicious that I couldn’t hold back! Plus I still had a lot of blood oranges around.
I am glad I used them for this though, as the cream and citrus flavors went realllllly well together. It tasted like an orange dreamsicle popsicle with a hint of raspberry thrown in, but MUCH prettier than a popsicle. So, if you want to make something that really *POPS*, but don’t want to spend hours slaving over a hot oven, this is an excellent solution.
Blood Orange Panna Cotta
Ingredients
- Candied Blood Oranges recipe in the croissant post, syrup reserved for garnish
- Juice from 4 Blood Oranges nice and pulpy
- 1 Packet Gelatin
- 2 and 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Water
- 2 Teaspoons Finely Grated Blood Orange Zest
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Instructions
-
Whisk together the blood orange juice, water, and gelatin in a small bowl and set aside. Bring the sugar and heavy cream to a boil in a small pot over medium heat, whisking every couple minutes. Once it begins to boil, lower the heat to a simmer and whisk in the gelatin mixture. Continue cooking for two minutes, whisking the entire time. Remove from heat and whisk in the blood orange zest and the vanilla extract until combined. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature before distributing into 6 separate ramekins. Place the ramekins in the refrigerator to gel for 6 hours or overnight. Once set, drizzle a bit of the syrup from the candied blood oranges into each ramekin (a tablespoon or two depending on how sweet you want it) and garnish each ramekin with a candied blood orange. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Note: Requires a minimum of 6 hours of refrigerationĀ
I have panna cotta on my list of things to make as well. I have always thought of it as difficult but you inspire me to give it a try.
Thank you! I would highly recommend it, I think it would be even more pleasant to eat in the summer when it's nice and hot outside but you have a chilled, citrusy treat to keep you cool š
Like you, Chris, my fiance, and I don't do the whole grand gesture thing. In fact, he "surprised" me this morning with a giant box of plain M&Ms because they're my favorite candy. Just keeping it real, hahaha.
What an elegant panna cotta you made! I hope you and your mister enjoy your dreamy desserts and have a very happy Valentine's Day.
Hahaha, that is just perfect! I feel the exact same; don't get me a giant box of various chocolates, I'd much prefer a package of Milk Duds haha. And thank you! I hope you and Chris have a wonderful Valentine's Day too! š
I love blood oranges! I have been contemplating panna cotta a lot recently, and this one looks so pretty and sounds too delicious to pass up! Must give it a try soon.
Please do! It is so simple to make and sooooo incredibly tasty.
So pretty! I usually drink all my blood oranges in the form of fresh-squeezed juice–but now I'm thinking it'stime to break out the cream and vanilla. š
Yes, fresh-squeezed blood orange juice is the beeeeeest! So sweet but with that great citrus tang. And the color! Amazing. But yes, if you want to fancy it up a bit, a panna cotta is a great way to go š
your blog is phenomenal! xoxo from a fellow LA lady chelsea at http://nowismagic.blogspot.com
Thank you Chelsea! š
These are beautiful! We're ordering in pizza tonight. Happy low key Valentine's Day to all!
Hurray for low-key Valentine's! You know you've got something special when you have as much fun hanging out at home as you would having a night on the town š
Oooo, that IS easy! The panna cotta I've had at restaurants has been served on a plate, so maybe the tricky part is just getting it out of the chilling dish. Which I see no reason to do, because it's a lot easier to eat it right from a dish. (And I can bring it up close to my face for easier eating. If I tried that at a restaurant, Johnny would break up with me on that spot.) (:
The combination of creamy panna cotta + blood orange sounds so so good. I'm pretty much sold on anything that tastes like a dreamsicle pop, especially if it looks this pretty!
Thanks Carey! Yes, so much easier to just eat out of the jar. Plus if you have cute glass jars laying around it makes for a nice presentation š And I totally agree with you on the bringing stuff up to your face to eat deal, whenever I wear a scoop or v-neck top I end up with crumbs inside my bra at the end of the day. ALWAYS. Often times I don't even remember eating stuff that was that prone to crumb-making! I'm just a terribly messy eater, so the shorter the distance between the food and my mouth the better haha.
I have always wanted to make panna cotta too, but thought it would be too difficult. This sounds totally doable! And just look at those blood oranges…beautiful!
It really is super simple! And it tastes soooooo yummy, definitely give it a go! š
i wanna learn how to take pictures like this! any tips, i just got a dslr (nikon d3100). any tips?!
Thanks! My biggest recommendations are to use natural light, make sure you have a good light source, invest in some fun backdrops and food props, and invest in a couple good lenses. I use a 50mm 1.8 and a 35mm 1.4 for all my photos. Hope this helps! š
the first thing i do when i have oodles of money is spread it out all over my bed and roll in it. i think that's to be expected. š
this is a lovely dessert–so elegant!
This is SO beautiful!! I FINALLY found blood oranges at my grocery store yesterday and am so excited to get baking (and cocktailing!) with them!
Sues
How much juice would you get from oranges? 1 cup? 2 cups? I would think it wouldn't set if there was too much liquid in proportion to gelatin…
It sounds wonderful with the orange. Panna cotta is so easy to make; I make it a lot. Always an elegant dessert to serve guests!
Good question! An average sized orange makes about 1/4 cup of juice, but blood oranges are a bit smaller so I would estimate about 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of juice total from 4 blood oranges.
Let's Be Penpals!
from my homestead to your inbox