This recipe for Cardamom Panna Cotta, is one of my favorite desserts ever. 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 of these luxurious bites are the perfect ending to your special dinner.
Here I’ve added a hint of coffee. The combination of cardamom and coffee are so harmonious, complementing each other so generously, it’s hard to imagine them ever apart.
On the homefront: There are books that find their way to us at exactly the right time. I find it uncanny sometimes, how the universe often gives us little nudges towards what we need, with expert timing. These signs can be quiet and subtle, soft whisperings to the heart, a gentle pull. Other times the nudge can feel more like a shove.
Somehow this book found its way into my hands a year ago now, and all I can say is –it was exactly what I needed at the time. It spoke to me. It may not be for everyone, but I just wanted to put out there, in case you too, need a little nudge. It’s called The Untethered Soul, a heart opener for sure.
Cardamom Latte Panna Cotta
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: northwest
- 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 4 hours cooling time.
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 7 whole cardamom pods crushed (or 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom)
- 1–2 teaspoons instant coffee (or use instant decaf)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
- 2 tablespoons water
Serve with Cardamom whipped cream- see notes.
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, sugar, cardamom and instant coffee. Over medium heat, bring the mixture just to a simmer.
- Remove from the heat, cover and let steep for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand until evenly moistened about 5 minutes.
- Uncover the cream mixture and bring just to a simmer over moderately high heat.
- Remove from heat, add the gelatin and stir until dissolved. Strain and pour into a pitcher.
- Pour the panna cotta mixture into four small 4-ounce ramekins or canning jars and let cool to room temperature.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the panna cotta is set but still jiggly, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.
- Serve in the jars, with a dollop of whip cream and shaved chocolate (both optional).
Notes
This can be made ahead- keeps up to 3 days in the fridge (covered).
To make Cardamom Whipped Cream: Whip one cup heavy cream with 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon 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
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!!