This recipe for Cardamom Panna Cotta is one of my favorite desserts ever. We’ve been serving it in our catering business, and it always gets rave reviews. success. It’s a rich, creamy, luscious, custard-like dessert; without eggs, it comes together quickly and without fuss.
Serve the panna cotta in little canning jars or mini ramekins with a fluffy dollop of whipped cream and some chocolate shavings; a few bites of this luxurious dessert are the perfect ending to your special dinner. The best part is you can make these up to 3 days ahead!
What I love about this recipe is the combination of cardamom and coffee- the flavors are so harmonious, complementing each other so generously that it’s hard to imagine them ever apart. It’s reminiscent of Turkish coffee, the kind of coffee my Egyptian father often made, and somehow, this dessert brings me back to my growing up home.
Cardamom Panna Cotta Ingredients
- Heavy cream and whole milk
- Powdered gelatin
- Sugar
- Whole cardamom pods or ¾ ground cardamom
- Instant coffee (or use instant decaf coffee)
- Vanilla Extract (or one vanilla bean, split and scraped)
- 6 small cups, wine glasses, ramekins or 4-ounce jars (each serving is about ¼ cup)
Serve with Cardamom whipped cream- see notes.
Panna Cotta Instructions
- Place the milk in a medium saucepan. Sprinkle with the gelatin in a fine layer, and let stand for 5-10 minutes until softened. Place on the stove over medium heat, whisking. Whisk in the sugar, while warming the milk gently (do not let it come to a simmer) until the sugar and gelatin are completely dissolved.
- Add the heavy cream, cardamom pods, instant coffee, and vanilla, and continue warming and whisking over medium heat just until it is about to come to a simmer (never letting it come to a simmer). Remove from heat and let it stand 15-30 minutes.
- Strain and pour into six, 4-ounce jars or ramekins or cups.
- Cover and refrigerate until the panna cotta is set, 2-3 hours.
- Serve with a spoon and a dollop of cardamom whipped cream and shaved chocolate (both optional)
How to Unmold Panna Cotta
- To unmold the panna cotta, spray the ramekins with oil before filling. Refigerate at least 4-6 hours.
- When ready to unmold, fill a medium bowl with hot water. Have your serving plates ready. Wipe the plate with a damp towel so panna cotta can easily slide into the correct position.
- Slide a knife around the top edge of the ramekin, releasing the top edge. Dip the ramekin into the hot water to the top edge for 5 seconds.
- Place the ramekin on the counter. Put the plate on top of the ramekin and flip both over, securing with two hands.
- Nudge it into the center if need be, continuing with the rest.
Storage and Make Ahead
The panna cotta can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator. Leftovers will keep up to a week in an air-tight container.
Serving Suggestions
We love this topped with a dollop of cardamom whipped cream. It’s easy to make; see the recipe notes!
More desserts you’ll like
- Chocolate Panna Cotta
- Best Homemade Ice Cream
- Pulla (Finnish Cardamom Bread)
- Finnish Cardamom Rolls (Pulla!)
- Star Bread
Cardamom Panna Cotta Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: dessert, sweets,
- Method: Various
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Cardamom Panna Cotta- a scrumptious, easy dessert with a hint of coffee flavor – perfect for holiday gatherings. Can be made ahead! Allow 3- 4 hours cooling time.
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 10 whole cardamom pods crushed (or 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom)
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee (or use instant decaf)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 6 cups, wine glasses, ramekins or 4-ounce jars
Serve with Cardamom whipped cream- see notes.
Instructions
- Place the milk in a medium saucepan. Sprinkle with the gelatin in a fine layer, and let stand for 5-10 minutes until softened. Place on the stove over medium heat, whisking. Whisk in the sugar, while warming the milk gently (do not let it come to a simmer) until the sugar and gelatin are completely dissolved.
- Add the heavy cream, cardamom pods, instant coffee, and vanilla, and continue warming and whisking over medium heat just until it is about to come to a simmer (never letting it come to a simmer). Remove from heat and let it stand 15-30 minutes.
- Strain and pour into six, 4-ounce jars or ramekins or cups. See notes for unmolding the panna cotta.
- Cover and refrigerate until the panna cotta is set, 2-3 hours or make these up to 3 days ahead
- Serve with a spoon and a dollop of cardamom whipped cream and shaved chocolate (both optional).
Notes
This can be made ahead- keeps up to 3 days in the fridge (covered).
To unmold the panna cotta, spray the ramekins with spray oil before filling. Refigerate at least 4-6 hours. When ready to un mold, fill a medium bowl with hot water. Have your serving plates ready. Wipe the plate with a damp towel so panna cotta can easily slide into the correct position. Slide a knife around the top edge of the ramekin, releasing the top edge. Dip the ramekin into the hot water to the top edge for 5 seconds. Place the ramekin on the counter. Put the plate on top of the ramekin and flip it over. Nudge it into the center if need be.
To make Cardamom Whipped Cream: Whip one cup of heavy cream with 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon of cardamon. Whip in a stand mixer using the whisk attachment for 3-4 minutes until medium peaks form. Refrigerate (covered) until using.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 14.2 g
- Sodium: 17.6 mg
- Fat: 21.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 13.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.7 g
- Fiber: 0.1 g
- Protein: 2.3 g
- Cholesterol: 67.8 mg
Every time I serve this fabulous, easy dessert it gets rave reviews. I’ve passed the recipe on to friends & families many, many times. Thank you for such a yummy recipe.
Great to hear you are enjoying!
Could you please advise as to an effective vegetarian option to the gelatine? I would love to make this recipe. Thank you
Hi Gilly, I haven’t tested it, but you could use agar agar powder (not flakes) but I’m not sure how much. 1 teaspoon, just a guess!!!
This was a huge hit in my house! Will be making it often.
Great to hear this Jennifer!
We finished the first batch yesterday and my husband and son are already asking for another!
Ha! Nice, that is good affirmation!
What alternative to powdered gelatine would you recommend to a vegetarian for this delicious sounding panna cotta please?
Hi Gilly, your best bet is to use agar agar powder- but it can be tricky, and I am not clear on the amount. 2 grams perhaps?
I had old (years) cardamom pods and fresher ground cardamom and couldn’t decide which to use. I decided to use the pods but half way through, realized the recipe yields 4 and I needed 6. So, I’m made them again, using the ground cardamom the second time. I could taste no discernible difference between the two batches. Whew! That said, the instant coffee slightly overpowers the cardamom to me. If making again, I would also steep it for much longer than 15 minutes. Maybe even hours. The flavor was good but I could still taste mostly cream. I did make the cardamom whipped cream too. I doubled the cardamom but might triple it next time. Garnished with shaved lavender chocolate!
Thanks for the feedback Jen!
I have made a similar one. I top it with a drizzle of pomegranate syrup. Heaven!!
Yum!
I tried this at home for family and guests including a chef. This dessert was a super hit. We found the subtle hint of cardomom amazing and something new for average diners.
Glad you gave this a go!
We LOVE this recipe….but we’re trying to shed the dreaded COVID 20lbs. How can I lighten it up? Would low-fat evaporated milk work in place of heavy the whipping cream? I’m thinking of cutting back a little on the sugar or possibly using Stevia. Would love your thoughts!
I haven’t tried with either stevia or evaporated milk….I’m so sorry.
I’ll give it a try & let you know how it works out.
Dear Sylvia,
I made this with 1 can of low-fat evaporated milk, 1 package of powered Milkman chocolate milk mixed with 1 cup of water. 1 TBSP Rancho Gordo Chocolate finely grated. 4 tsp sugar. 2 tsp Mount Hagen instant decaf coffee. 7 cardamom pods. 1 1/2 tsp gelatin. Followed the directions as written.
The recipe makes six 3.5 oz servings.
To eliminate more plastic in the landfill, I covered the petite glass French yogurt jars with small squares of Bees Wrap rather than plastic wrap. Aluminum Foil would work too, and could be recycled.
My husband who has a massive sweet tooth & is a huge choc-a-holic (and loves the original recipe) gave this modified version a big thumbs up and asked me to make it regularly.
Thought you would like to know how my experiment came out.
I’m such a fan of with your recipes!
Wishing you good health! Leslie
Great to hear Leslie- thanks for letting me know!!!
Hello from France, can you use instead of instant coffee, a bit of strong expresso and in which quty?
Yes, that would be fine. I’d replace a shot of espresso for a little of the cream. Does that make sense? So together, cream and espresso would equal 2 cups.
This was divine! My son (8yrs) picked it when we were deciding what to cook this week and it did not disappoint, he licked the bowl clean. We topped it with cardamom whip cream and will definitely be making it again!
Yummmmm!
Hi – Would you be willing to share your recipe for cardamom whipped cream?
There is a recipe in the recipe notes 🙂
Any chance this can be made with dairy free milk?
I haven’t tried, but my guess is coconut milk (out of a can) would work. I’m only guessing here. You’d need something rich like that.
This looks wonderful, but I wonder if you could make it vegan with Coconut milk?
Hey Lisa- yes I think that coconut milk would totally work, but gelatin is not technically vegan. You’de need to use a substitute like Agar-Agar.
I was at a wedding reception recently and was served a lemon panna cotta dessert. I thought it was quite delicious. I came to your website and while browsing the dessert recipes I found this cardamom latte panna cotta recipe. It came out superb. The coffee and the cardamom were a great combination. After making this I was thinking to myself that this was really just a matter of infusing flavor into whipping cream. I remembered an ice cream recipe using orange peels and star anise. I made a panna cotta dessert infusing them into the whipping cream. It also came out superb. Subtle flavor, not overpowering with just a little sweetness. Your recipes inspire me to try different variations. Thanks
Thanks Terry! Orange and star anise sounds divine! Glad you are playing around with it and creating your own versions…so much fun, isn’t it!? Hope you are having a great summer.
Orange and star anise….yum. You’ve inspired me to make a Panna cotta with their combination. Thank you!
This looks so amazing! Is there an ingredient I can substitute the gelatin for, such as pectin, to make this vegetarian? Thank you!
There is a vegetable based gelatin called Vegan Jell. You could also use agar agar, although I’m not sure about the quantities, you may have to play with it a bit.
I am writing a recipe book of Rajastani recipes for an Indian charity I help and your recipe caught my eye as I have been reading up on the black a and green cardamom. It is such an aromatic gorgeous spice and using it in panna cotta just lovely. I am sure to serve it again and file it with favorite recipes. I also use cardamon in a typically Indian baked yogurt recipe.
Linda
Sounds delicous!
Sylvia, this is GORGE!! I’ll take 50!
Thanks Alana!
I just am loving everything about this panna cotta – it’s spice, the perfect layers and your beautiful/enticing photography of it!
This is so beautifully shot and looks delicious!
Wow that looks awesome! I almost thought it was an actual latte at first glance, but custard is even better! 🙂
We’re on the same cardamom page today, I adore the spice! This is the most sensuous dessert I’ve seen in a long time, and coffee and cardamom is one of my all time favorite combinations. I think I just found my Valentine’s Day finale!
Thanks Sue…yes cardamom is the best…especially with coffee. 🙂
This is such a cool panna cotta flavour! I love it!
These photos are just stunning. I always think your photos are overwhelmingly beautiful, but for some reason these are really speaking to me 🙂
Nora, you are so sweet…. thank you!!