Learn how to make buttermilk panna cotta with the most delicious blueberry sauce! This dessert is a fantastic choice for entertaining, and trust me, it’s way easier than you might think.
This buttermilk panna cotta is truly one of my favorite desserts, especially when I’m having guests over. It looks incredibly fancy and put-together, making your guests think you’ve spent hours in the kitchen. However, in reality, it’s incredibly simple to make and perfect for preparing up to three days in advance. Consider it one of the best dinner party desserts you can ask for.
The homemade blueberry sauce is an absolute dream with the panna cotta. I love making it from scratch, but if you need a quicker fix, your favorite store-bought jam will work beautifully in its place. The panna cotta comes together super fast: you’ll steep cream with vanilla, whisk in gelatin, and then add the tangy buttermilk. After that, it needs to set in the fridge (plan for at least four hours, but remember that it can be made up to three days ahead).
Key Ingredients
- Blueberry Sauce: Our homemade sauce takes just 10 minutes to prepare and combines fresh (or frozen) blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice. It’s simple and lovely with the panna cotta. That said, you can skip making the sauce altogether and use your favorite jam instead.
- Powdered Gelatin: This is the magic ingredient that gives our panna cotta its beautiful, wobbly set. To activate it, you’ll need to bloom the powdered gelatin in a small amount of water before whisking it into the warm cream mixture. It’s a simple step that ensures a perfectly smooth texture.
- Buttermilk: This is what truly sets this panna cotta apart! While many recipes use milk, we use tangy buttermilk. It perfectly cuts through the richness of the cream, creating an incredibly delicious dessert. I recommend using whole-milk buttermilk for the best results. If you have some leftover, try our buttermilk pancakes!
- Cream: Heavy cream is the base of our panna cotta mixture, resulting in a silky-smooth and exceptionally creamy dessert!
- Honey and Vanilla: I love the floral flavor of honey paired with buttermilk, and when I have one on hand, I enjoy using a vanilla pod to infuse a rich vanilla flavor. If you do not have a vanilla pod, use vanilla extract instead (you’ll need 2 teaspoons).
Blueberry Buttermilk Panna Cotta
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
I’m always amazed by how incredible this buttermilk panna cotta tastes, especially with the homemade blueberry sauce. In our photos, we have used small glasses (similar to shot glasses), but you can use small bowls or cups instead. Assume this recipe will serve 4 to 5 people.
You Will Need
3 cups fresh blueberries
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 (1/4-ounce) envelope unflavored powdered gelatin
2 cups (470ml) heavy cream
1/4 cup (85g) honey
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped, or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (236ml) whole-fat buttermilk
Directions
1Make blueberry sauce: Add the blueberries, 1 cup (236ml) of water, and sugar to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then add the lemon juice and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the sauce begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Remember to stir occasionally and use the back of a wooden spoon to crush a few of the blueberries into the sauce as it cooks. Set the sauce aside and let it cool to room temperature.
2Infuse the cream: In a separate medium saucepan, combine the heavy cream, honey, vanilla bean pod, and the scraped vanilla seeds. Place over medium heat and bring to a low simmer. Once simmering, remove the pan from the heat, cover it, and allow the cream to steep for 30 minutes to infuse with the vanilla flavor.
3Prepare the gelatin: After the cream has steeped for 30 minutes, add 1/4 cup (60ml) of water to a small, heatproof bowl. Evenly sprinkle the powdered gelatin over the water. Let it sit for 5 minutes to bloom, becoming thick and spongy.
4Make the panna cotta mixture: Place the cream mixture back over medium heat, making sure to remove and discard the vanilla pod. Add the bloomed gelatin mixture to the warm cream. As the mixture begins to steam (do not let it boil), remove the pan from the heat and whisk vigorously until the gelatin has fully dissolved and no granules remain. Finally, add the buttermilk and whisk until it’s well blended and smooth.
5Assemble: Carefully spoon a small amount of the cooled blueberry sauce into the bottom of each serving glass or bowl. Then, gently pour the panna cotta mixture over the sauce. Don’t worry if the sauce slightly mixes into the panna cotta. It will still look lovely and taste delicious.
6Allow the panna cotta to set: Leave the filled glasses or bowls at room temperature for 20 minutes to begin cooling down. After 20 minutes, cover them with plastic wrap and transfer them to the refrigerator. Chill until thoroughly set, which will take approximately 4 hours, or preferably overnight, for optimal results.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Make ahead: As long as you keep them covered and refrigerated, you can prepare the panna cotta up to 3 days in advance.
- Frozen blueberries for the sauce: Use 3 cups thawed and drained frozen blueberries.
- Use jam instead of the blueberry sauce: Feel free to skip making the blueberry sauce and add a spoonful of your favorite jam to the bottom of the serving bowl or glass before adding the panna cotta mixture.
- The nutrition facts provided are estimates.
No buttermilk where I live… wondering what you’d suggest as a substitute, if anything? Yogurt? Or Milk with vinegar?
Nevermind, I made my own buttermilk 🙂 I’ll report back tomorrow when we eat it!
I religiously follow your recepies post … could you plz post recipe for BAKLAVA or can you e-mail it to me .
I am so making it haha, looks great!! Can you substitute the buttermilk if needed?
Yes, buttermilk will work nicely.
Just pinned this recipe to my Pintrest page. Looks amazing. Thanks for the awesome email newsletters – I just love your stuff.
Thanks!
Yum, love panna cotta and blueberries – use a fair amount of buttermilk and here is a recipe I make all the time that everyone loves.
This post is so fetish-worthy, I’ve been inspired to include it in my Friday Food Fetish blog. If you have any objections, please let me know
These look so striking and your photos of them are beautiful. The colour is really impressive and I imagine in a pannacotta the taste is amazing!
I love buttermilk – and vanilla seeds in pretty much anything just makes it better 🙂 These are gorgeous and I love the glasses you used for the photos. I typically wind up dumping leftover buttermilk into scrambled eggs – a little adds a lovely tang.
Thanks! Love the idea of buttermilk and scrambled eggs — trying that one soon!
This panna cotta looks amazing! And I love the way you served it. Super cute.
Holy moly! This sounds amazing!
Thanks, Jessica — it’s all about that buttermilk! We were shocked with how much the tang when with the honey / vanilla sweetness!
Joanne
Panna cotta is one of my favorite desserts, I always look for on desert menus but rarely find…
Ours, too! Not too heavy after a larger meal.