You won’t believe how easy this elegant Lemon Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce is to make!
I have been preaching the virtues of panna cotta for a very long time now. It’s such a sophisticated dessert that requires very little effort – how can you not make it over and over? There are fresh raspberries everywhere at our local farmer’s markets right now and I knew that this Lemon Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce was getting made before I’d even made it back home.
Because this Lemon Panna Cotta has so few ingredients, you’ll want to be sure that you use the best you can get. I bought fresh cream and raspberries from the farmer’s market and it made this easy dessert even more delicious! I also cut down on calories by using zero-calorieTruvia® Natural Sweetener – besides, who needs the added sugar? (I use their packets for my coffee, too; anytime I can cut down on sugar and calories it’s a good thing)!
To get the diagonal presentation as you see in the photo, I used a silicone bundt cake pan, set the dishes inside it so they’re slightly tilted yet snug (use anything you have around the house; I’ve used a muffin tin with small dessert dishes). Place in the refrigerator and carefully pour lemon panna cotta mixture into the dishes. Once firm, cover dishes with plastic wrap until ready to serve.
I’ve made a lot of different panna cotta recipes over the years. This Lemon Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce is a definite favorite; my other favorite is my Panna Cotta with Fresh Peaches and Grand Marnier. So simple, delicious and gorgeous! And there are so many ways you can serve your Lemon Panna Cotta…here are some examples for you!
1/4 cup Truvia® Natural Sweetener, or 1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise & seeds scraped from pod (or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract)
2 packets plain powdered gelatin
6 tablespoons cold water
zest from one lemon
For the raspberry sauce
2 pints fresh raspberries
1/4 cup Truvia® Natural Sweetener, or 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
Instructions
For the Panna Cotta
Heat the heavy cream, Truvia® Natural Sweetener and vanilla in a saucepan, stirring occasionally until Truvia® Natural Sweetener is dissolved.
Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a let stand at least 5 minutes.
Stir the gelatin into the warm cream mixture until it’s completely dissolved. Stir in lemon zest.
Pour into dessert molds or dishes, cover lightly and chill until very firm. I usually do mine first thing in the morning and leave it all day or do it the night before (a few hours should be good, however).
For the Raspberry Sauce
In a medium saucepan, crush raspberries. Add Truvia® Natural Sweetener and water. Heat until boiling, stirring occasionally. Add corn starch and boil rapidly for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and CAREFULLY pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, discarding solids. Stir in Grand Marnier. Cover and chill in refrigerator.
Pour raspberry sauce over panna cotta and serve. Garnish with a mint leaf and a few fresh raspberries, if desired.
Kristy Bernardo is the recipe creator behind The Wicked Noodle. She's a five-time cookbook author, has taught cooking classes to both kids and adults, and has been creating recipes for nationwide brands since 2009. She learned most of her cooking skills from her mom and grandmother, then honed those skills at boot camp at the Culinary Institute of America.
It's not thick but I wouldn't say it's runny either.
Rose
Thursday 29th of November 2018
How many servings does this Panna cotta recipe make? I need to make 10-12 servings for a dinner party.
Kristy
Wednesday 26th of June 2019
You can use smaller dishes to make that many servings.
Pierre Rigaud
Friday 14th of September 2018
What if we want to put the raspberry sauce at the bottom of the glass instead? Should we prepare the Panna Cotta in a different glass and then pour over the sauce? Or can we pour it on top while it's still hot and let the mixture chill? Thanks for the great recipe!
Kristy
Saturday 15th of September 2018
Hi Pierre, if you want the sauce on top, you could chill the panna cotta in molds then place it on plates and top with the sauce. I don't think you can put the sauce in first, then the panna cotta on top to chill. I could be wrong but I believe it would mix together (which, who knows, it could turn out delicious)! I have another panna cotta recipe you can search for if you'd like to see what it might look like inverted onto a plate (panna cotta with peaches and Grand Marnier). Hope that helps! Cheers :)
Missy
Monday 6th of August 2018
You mentioned you have made this in mini dishes that gave you about 24... I was planning on doing this and using shot glasses and filling them about half way. Were your mini dishes about the size of a shot glass? Trying to decide if I need to double or triple the recipe. Thanks!
Kristy
Monday 6th of August 2018
It's been so long since I made this and I no longer have those glasses. But if memory serves, they were slightly bigger than a shot glass (maybe even 2x the size)? So I do think you'd have plenty if that's what you choose to do.
Jess
Tuesday 12th of April 2016
I made these and they were great except for all of the lemon zest settles to the bottom of the cup and your last couple bites are pure zest. Any suggestions on a fix for this?
Kristy Bernardo
Tuesday 12th of April 2016
Hi Jess! That's unusual, it's never happened to me. Did you use a microplane zester so the zest is very fine? I'm just trying to think of reasons it would have done that.
Catherine
Wednesday 20th of April 2022
Is the raspberry sauce suppose to be runny?
Kristy Bernardo
Saturday 30th of April 2022
It's not thick but I wouldn't say it's runny either.
Rose
Thursday 29th of November 2018
How many servings does this Panna cotta recipe make? I need to make 10-12 servings for a dinner party.
Kristy
Wednesday 26th of June 2019
You can use smaller dishes to make that many servings.
Pierre Rigaud
Friday 14th of September 2018
What if we want to put the raspberry sauce at the bottom of the glass instead? Should we prepare the Panna Cotta in a different glass and then pour over the sauce? Or can we pour it on top while it's still hot and let the mixture chill? Thanks for the great recipe!
Kristy
Saturday 15th of September 2018
Hi Pierre, if you want the sauce on top, you could chill the panna cotta in molds then place it on plates and top with the sauce. I don't think you can put the sauce in first, then the panna cotta on top to chill. I could be wrong but I believe it would mix together (which, who knows, it could turn out delicious)! I have another panna cotta recipe you can search for if you'd like to see what it might look like inverted onto a plate (panna cotta with peaches and Grand Marnier). Hope that helps! Cheers :)
Missy
Monday 6th of August 2018
You mentioned you have made this in mini dishes that gave you about 24... I was planning on doing this and using shot glasses and filling them about half way. Were your mini dishes about the size of a shot glass? Trying to decide if I need to double or triple the recipe. Thanks!
Kristy
Monday 6th of August 2018
It's been so long since I made this and I no longer have those glasses. But if memory serves, they were slightly bigger than a shot glass (maybe even 2x the size)? So I do think you'd have plenty if that's what you choose to do.
Jess
Tuesday 12th of April 2016
I made these and they were great except for all of the lemon zest settles to the bottom of the cup and your last couple bites are pure zest. Any suggestions on a fix for this?
Kristy Bernardo
Tuesday 12th of April 2016
Hi Jess! That's unusual, it's never happened to me. Did you use a microplane zester so the zest is very fine? I'm just trying to think of reasons it would have done that.