Strawberry Rose Panna Cotta

There’s something you might not know about me. I love roses. I mean, I *really* love roses. The scent of them. The look of them. And the taste of them. Every Christmas when I was a child I delighted in the box of Rose Turkish Delight that graced the candy table. We only had candy once a year, so I mostly inhaled all the rose-flavored jellies as soon as the wrapper was off the box. I’m not quite sure what made my thoughts go to rose this week, but I had some strawberries nestled in the fridge and decided that we all needed something to make us feel summery. To me, there’s not much more summery than strawberries and roses. So I made you Strawberry Rose Panna Cotta, and it turned out perfectly for a light, summery dessert that takes few ingredients, very little work and totally hits the ‘treat’ spot. I feel like we all need a little treat right now.

Frozen strawberries are an entirely different beast to fresh strawberries. The flavor is different, the texture, even the color. You could make these with frozen strawberries if that’s all you can get, but if you go that route I would thaw and drain them really, really well – overnight, even – before weighing and adding to the pan. The amount of liquid expressed from a frozen strawberry could play all sorts of havoc with your panna cotta’s ability to set.

Talking of liquids, if you don’t have or can’t get rose extract for your Strawberry Rose Panna Cotta you can use vanilla extract, but I highly recommend the rose. Even if you do it with vanilla this first time, I would encourage you to put rose extract on your Amazon list.

The balance of liquid to gelatin in a panna cotta can be the difference between a “WOW!” dessert and an “OK” dessert. I’m aiming for you all to get “WOW!”

This Strawberry Rose Panna Cotta is light enough after a slap-up celebration meal, but also swanky enough to make your friends think you spent hours working on it, especially if you break out the fancy dishes and take a few minutes to pretty it up with some extra strawberries and (edible) dried rose petals. But it’s also simple and easy to make, and can be made ahead so you don’t have a time crunch on the day.

Swanky dinners aside, I just enjoy one of these after a week-night dinner. A little something to round things out, add an extra dollop of fat, and a big helping of feel good. To that end, you really don’t need much, so making them in two-mouthful shot glasses or mini ramekins or dishes would be a great option for a fat-bomb. You should avoid using silicone molds because they do not set solid enough to get them out.

For glasses or dishes, once the Strawberry Rose Panna Cotta is set, cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge. Another every day option would be to spoon the mousse into baby Mason Jars or  baby Pyrex (so adorable!) and just whip one out every day or grab one as you pass the fridge on the way to work.

Now, if you use dishes and want to turn yours out like I did, there’s a couple tricks to that.

• Make sure your dish is wider at the top than the bottom.
• Only half fill your dish, otherwise it will be harder to get out.
• Put enough hot water in the sink to come up just to the same level as the top of the panna cotta in the dish.
• Stand the dishes (one at a time) in the hot water for about 30 seconds. Put a plate upside down on top of the dish, and holding both the plate and the dish flip the dish over. Give a firm shake. Carefully lift up the dish. If the panna cotta is not on the plate when you lift the dish, turn the plate and dish back over and then put the dish back in the hot water for another 15 seconds. Repeat with the plate flip thing. I can feel a video coming on.
• Daft though it might sound, it tastes different when you spoon it out of a dish or glass. Or maybe that’s just me.

However you decide to serve your Strawberry Rose Panna Cotta, get thee to your kitchen and get some going today. Oh, and the flavor is better if they are not fridge-cold when you eat them. The butterfat in the cream can leave a little bit of palate-cling round your gob if you eat it straight from the fridge. You’re welcome.

Strawberry Rose Panna Cotta

Author: Carrie Brown | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 0 mins | Total time: 15 mins + 4 hours setting | Serves: 4 – 6 as dessert, more if making as fat bombs

What You Need

• 6 TBSP cold water
• 2 1/2 tsp. gelatin or agar agar
• 2 oz / 55g allulose OR xylitol or erythritol
• 6 oz / 170g fresh strawberries
• 1 1/2 cups / 12 fl oz. heavy cream
• 1/2 cup / 4 fl oz. almond milk
• 1 tsp. rose extract
• 6 oz / 170g fresh strawberries (optional extra strawberries)
  

What You Do

1. Put the cold water in a small dish and sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the surface. Allow to stand for at least 5 minutes.
2. Put the sweetener, strawberries, heavy cream, almond milk, and rose extract in a pan on medium heat, stirring until the sweetener has completely dissolved and then bring just to a boil.
3. Turn the heat off and let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Carefully pour the cream mixture into a blender and blend on low until the strawberries are completely blended.
5. Place a fine mesh sieve over the pan you used to heat the cream and pour the warm blended mixture through the sieve to catch the strawberry seeds.
6. Add the soaked gelatin to the blended mixture in the pan and place over the lowest heat, stirring until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
7. Remove from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature, stirring every half hour.
8. Meanwhile, finely chop the optional extra strawberries and distribute evenly among your serving dishes or glasses. Place the serving dishes on a large plate. The plate just allows you to carry the glasses steadier and move them all at once without slopping the cream mixture all up the sides.
9. Once the strawberry cream mixture is at room temperature, stir well and then carefully pour it over the chopped strawberries in your serving vessels.
10. Carefully carry the plate to the fridge and leave for at least 4 hours to set.
11. If you used dishes and want to turn them out onto plates like I did, check out the bullet list above before the recipe for some tips and tricks on that.
    
    

Top Recipe Tips

• The wider the dish you use for the water is, the easier it will be to sprinkle the gelatin evenly over it and make sure it all softens.
• Use beef gelatin as opposed to pork. I don’t have time to explain why, it’s long. Just trust me when I say that beef gelatin is more reliable. I have linked to the specific brand that I use.
• If you want or need to cut the carbs, or you prefer a truly smooth panna cotta, leave out the optional chopped extra strawberries.
• Really?? Leave it to cool to room temp before pouring it in things? That’ll take hours. Yep. If you skip this step there is a large chance that your panna cotta will separate into layers. And then you’ll be sad.

• Check out the Ingredients Guide for information on ingredients.
• Where Are The Macros and Nutritional Info?
  
  

Helpful Cooking and Recipe Links

• More dessert recipes
• Come laugh and learn with us over at The Kitchen Podcast
• Come hang out in The Keto Kitchen Facebook Group
• For lots more great recipes check out our scrumptious cookbooks!
• Check out the categories and tags at the bottom of the post to help you find more recipes using certain ingredients or from certain categories.
• Head to our You Tube Channel for a growing number of recipe videos and cooking skills videos!
  
  

Podcast Episodes and You Tube Videos

• How and Why to Measure Food
• Where Are The Macros and Nutritional Info?
• Keto / Low Carb Treats: should you eat them? Hear what Dr. Ken Berry and I have to say about it!
  
  

Substitutions

• Don’t. Just buy the correct ingredients and you, too, shall have a fabulous outcome!
• Xylitol and allulose are the sweeteners I recommend because they work very well. I also recommend erythritol if allulose or xylitol give you issues, but erythritol can be tricky to use successfully. You can use any other sweetener you like, but I cannot guarantee the results if you choose to use something different. In low carb and keto baking sweeteners are generally not interchangeable if you want great results.
• The alternative to gelatin is agar agar.
• Sub thick coconut milk for heavy cream to make dairy-free. The flavor of the mousse will be materially different since the strawberry and rose are subtle.