Honey Panna Cotta

My super simple honey panna cotta recipe is four ingredients and fool proof! Quick, easy and elegant - this panna cotta is the perfect make ahead dessert for any occasion.

Four Ingredient Honey Panna Cotta

It may surprise you, but this recipe only has four ingredients. And not one of them is actually honey. How can this be honey panna cotta then? Not an unreasonable question, but the quick answer is simple: Honey Greek Yogurt.

Uses for Flavored Greek Yogurt

I'm a bit late to the party of flavoured greek style yogurts. They've been widely available in the supermarket for years, but I've always defaulted to buying the basic plain variety.

Recently, however, I was thinking about how simple a flavoured yogurt could be for adding that extra layer to a recipe.

Behold the result: an intensely honey flavoured panna cotta, without having to actually deal with the mess of trying to measure out honey into the recipe.

Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta Recipe

So, much like my vanilla bean panna cotta in my Cherry Panna Cotta recipe, the key ingredient to this lusciously creamy dessert is yogurt. But, this time it is honey Greek style yogurt. Alongside the yogurt, the other ingredients are:

• Heavy (or double) cream
• Gelatine powder
• Sugar

Easy Panna Cotta Steps

I know that working with gelatine can be intimidating - worrying whether or not it will set. But, don't let the gelatine here put you off. Panna cotta is an incredibly straightforward recipe, with only four steps.

1. Allow the gelatine to bloom - this means letting it soak in water for about 10 minutes. This process will also make it easier to dissolve into your warm cream.
2. Heat half of the cream with the sugar. This enables the sugar to dissolve and will ensure the final product is creamy without sugar lumps.
3. Once the sugar is dissolved and the cream is simmering, remove from the heat and add the softened gelatine. Stir to dissolve.
4. Then, slowly pour this into the bowl of yogurt mixture and stir to combine.

Serving Homemade Panna Cotta

Panna cottas are often seen in restaurants turned out onto dishes with a sauce or other toppings. This shows off the panna cotta's 'wobble', which proves the dessert is properly set.

I tend to find that this style of presentation has a couple of problems for the home cook:

• It relies on you having an extra piece of equipment. You would need moulds or ramekins for the panna cottas.
• Proper preparation of the mould. You need to ensure that you grease these well. Otherwise, you may not be able to remove the panna cottas once they're set.
• No room for a slightly unset panna cotta. While this shouldn't be a problem if you follow this recipe, everyone has those occasions when they run out of time and try to make a dessert too late. If you're unable to leave enough time for the panna cotta to set, trying to also unmould these for presentation adds a level of unnecessary anxiety.

So, to avoid all of these issues, I serve my panna cottas in glassware or cups. I find this still gives an elegant display. You can use any type of glassware or a tea cup to make for a simple, yet beautiful presentation.

Toppings for Honey Greek Style Yogurt Panna Cotta

My Greek yogurt panna cotta recipe is a simple honey flavoured creamy dessert. Honestly, my husband and I happily ate these plain with no topping. But, sauces or compotes do help to liven up panna cotta, offering extra textures and flavours for the dish.

Some ideas for topping my honey panna cotta include:

• A drizzle of plain honey - for those super honey lovers out there!
• Some chopped nuts for texture - pecans or walnuts would go nicely with the honey.
• A fruit compote or sauce - blueberries would pair nicely with honey flavours.

FAQs for Honey Panna Cotta

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• Cherry Panna Cotta
• No Churn Cake Ice Cream
• No Bake S'mores Cheesecake