Rose Strawberry Panna Cotta [Without Gelatin]

5 from 2 votes

Jan 29, 2016, Updated Feb 12, 2018

Rose Strawberry Panna Cotta makes a stunning dessert for any occasion. It's made without gelatin and suitable for vegetarians.

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Creamy and delicious Panna Cotta (minus the gelatin) served with Rose & Strawberry Sauce. It makes a sophisticated dessert for any occasion!

Days are flying like hours, didn’t we just celebrate new year and now we are almost done with January. Someone needs to stop this time, it’s moving way too fast. I can’t believe February is only a weekend away! I always look forward to this month because it bring us little closer to spring, with December & January behind us! I am really waiting for days to get longer again, it just feels so nice when the sun is shining till 6 pm! And of course I also like February because of Valentine’s Day which basically means I can make tons of desserts like this Rose & Strawberry Panna Cotta.

This year I really thought of sharing super simple yet stunning Valentines Day desserts with you guys. A lot of times desserts which look super fancy are actually super easy to make and that’s what I wanted to show you guys this year with my Valentines Day recipes. One such dessert is the Italian Panna Cotta, which is basically cooked cream. The cream is cooked and then set into ramekins/glasses using gelatin. The best part about this dessert is that it only takes 10 minutes to make it and it can be made in advance. In fact you should make it in advance because it needs time to set.

As a vegetarian, the problem I faced was not being able to enjoy this delicious dessert in restaurants. Almost everywhere panna cotta is set using gelatin which as you might know is not suitable for vegetarians. But I can always enjoy it at home when I make it using agar agar, which is the vegetarian gelatin! I got these agar agar flakes from my local PCC Natural Markets and it worked so well in this recipe.

Coming to the flavors of this panna cotta, now strawberry is really popular and common as well and so I added my little twist to make this rose strawberry panna cotta. If you grew up in India in the 90s you must have drank the very famous Rooh Afza milkshake. Rooh Afza is a very popular rose syrup in India. When we were kids, mom used to make it’s milkshake for us all the time. And whenever you go, people would serve you Rooh Afza as a drink. I never really liked that milkshake as a kid, probably because I had to drink it all the time but now I do.

Rose is a very popular flavor in Indian and Middle Eastern desserts. In fact a lot of desserts are also made using this popular rose syrup in India. I hope you guys like my twist on the traditional panna cotta!

Method

To a pan on medium heat add heavy cream and milk.

This picture is just to show you guys the agar agar flakes that I used. I got it from PCC, I am sure you can find them at Whole Foods as well and of course there’s always amazon!

Add the agar agar flakes to the pan and stir.

Also add sugar, rose water and vanilla extract. Keep whisking at medium-low heat till the agar agar flakes dissolve. This would take 5-6 minutes. You don’t the mixture to boil so just keep it at medium-low heat.

Once everything has dissolved, remove pan from heat. Strain the mixture to get rid of any undissolved agar agar flakes.

Pour the strained mixture into three 8 oz ramekins. Let the mixture cool down a bit, then cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight.

Once the panna cotta is set, start making the rose strawberry sauce. To a pan add fresh strawberries, rose syrup [I used Rooh Afza] and water.

Cook for 6-7 minutes or till strawberries are soft and mixture becomes syrupy.

Remove pan from heat and blend using a blender. You will get a nice thick sauce. At this point you can adjust the consistency of the sauce and adjust sweetness to taste.

To un-mold the panna cotta run a paring knife around the edges.

Take a jar/bowl full of hot water and submerge the lower end of the ramekin into that hot water for 10-15 seconds.

Take the serving plate and flip the ramekin on top it. The panna cotta should come out easily.

Spread the prepared sauce all around the rose strawberry panna cotta. Garnish with strawberry, rose petals and chopped pistachios.

* The panna cotta using agar agar actually set in 2 hours only. I have never used gelatin so I can’t comment how long that will take. Recipes using gelatin suggest 4 hours or even overnight.

* The cook time includes the time for cooking the panna cotta and the sauce. It does not include the time taken for the panna cotta to set.

* You can replace the milk with half & half for a creamier panna cotta.

* You can find rose syrup at any Indian or Middle Eastern grocery store.