This lovely, summery lemon corn panna cotta recipe has corn and lemon zest steeped into the dairy. Panna cotta is an easy dessert to make and really easy to make variations just by steeping different ingredients in the cream. I made an easy blueberry sauce to serve with it, but sweet caramelized corn and/or some candied lemon would also make a lovely garnish.
Course Individual Desserts
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Steep and Chill Time 4 hourshours30 minutesminutes
kernels from 2 ears of sweet cornwhite or yellow (you can also substitute in 1 cup of frozen corn)
zest of 2 lemons
10ozheavy creamdivided use
1 ½teaspoonsunflavored gelatin
4ozwhole milk
4ozfull fat buttermilk
pinchof salt
⅓cupsugar
½teaspoonvanilla extract or paste
Instructions
Place the corn kernels, lemon zest, 6 oz (3/4 cup) heavy cream, whole milk and salt in a small saucepan. (NOTE: If using fresh corn, you can cut up the 2 cobs into 2=3 pieces each and add them to the pan as well for extra flavor)
Heat over medium heat until steaming but not boiling.
Remove from the heat, put a lid on the pan and let sit for 30 minutes.
In a small pan, pour in 4 oz (1/2 cup) heavy cream and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let bloom for at least 10 minutes.
After your corn and lemon have steeped for 30 minutes in the cream/milk mixture, remove cobs (if using) and then strain the rest through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Press down hard to get all the flavor and milk you can out of the corn kernels. You should have 1 cup of liquid. If you are a little short, add a touch more cream to equal 1 cup (8 oz).
Rinse out the pan and dry it
Return the strained cream mixture to the pan, and add the sugar and bloomed gelatin/cream mixture. Heat over medium heat until hot, the sugar has dissoved, and the mixture does not feel grainy at all. Do not let it boil. Pour into a bowl and stir in the cold buttermilk and the vanilla.
Pour into 4 small 5-6 oz containers and chill at least 4 hours before serving.
WAYS TO REFINE YOUR PANNA COTTA (Not necessary for flavor but for presentation)
Before pouring your mixture into your containers, place your liquid panna cotta in a bowl inside a larger bowl filled with ice: an ice bath.
Whisk/stir every couple of minutes until the mixture begins to thicken. This will ensure your vanilla bean specks get suspended in your panna cotta rather than all falling to the bottom.
To get a nice, creamy finish to your panna cotta, hold out a portion of your heavy cream--maybe 2-3 oz--and whisk it unitl it just begins to thicken. Once your panna cotta starts to thicken in the ice bath, gently and thoroughly fold the thickened cream evenly into the panna cotta and then fill your containers. Not only will your panna cotta have lovely suspended specks of vanilla, it will also have a more creamy mouthfeel.
Notes
Sauce
Make a simple blueberry sauce by cooking together 1 cup of fresh blueberries, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1/4 cup water, and a pinch of salt. Allow this to come to a boil and keep at a low boil for 10 minutes. Finish with a little squeeze of lemon juice off the heat. Chill and serve alongside or spooned on top of your panna cotta.
Serving
For best flavor, allow panna cottas to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. This will take some of the chill off and allow the flavor to really shine.
Storing
Gelatin will continue to become more and more firm in the fridge, so panna cotta is best eaten within 2-3 days of making it. If you need to store it for longer before serving, see the freezing instructions, below.
Freezing
Freeze individual panna cottas covered with plastic wrap. Freeze for 2 weeks. To serve, allow to temper in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving.