Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Roasted Cherries
A barely-set dessert with enough tang to stop it tasting like sweetened cream.
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Written
Method
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Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a small bowl and leave it until softened, about 5 minutes.
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Warm the cream and ½ cup sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and steam just starts to rise — don’t let it boil.
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Off the heat, whisk in the softened gelatin until it’s fully dissolved and no grains remain.
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Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla, then strain through a sieve into a jug for a completely smooth set.
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Divide between six glasses and refrigerate uncovered until fully set, at least 4 hours.
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Heat the oven to 400°F. Toss the cherries with the remaining sugar, lemon juice, and salt on a sheet pan.
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Roast until the cherries have collapsed and released their juices, about 20 minutes, then cool to room temperature.
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Spoon the cherries and their juice over the panna cotta just before serving.
Notes
The buttermilk is doing the real work here — swap it for more cream and you’ve just made sweetened jelly. Don’t skip straining the base either: it’s the only thing standing between a silky set and one with flecks of unmelted gelatin running through it.
Frozen cherries roast just as well as fresh if it’s not the season for them, though you’ll lose a minute or two off the roasting time. Any leftover fruit syrup is worth keeping for stirring into soda water.