Coffee Panna Cotta

Panna Cotta is a chilled, silky smooth, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth Italian dessert that translates as “cooked cream.” This simple dessert couldn’t be easier to prepare and is best made a day ahead.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 Tbsp powdered gelatin

2 ½ cups heavy cream

¾ cup sugar

3 tbsp instant espresso granules

1 tbsp Sambuca, Kahlua, Amaretto, or other flavored liqueur

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

pinch of kosher salt

Instructions:

Heat the milk until just warm to the touch. Sprinkle in the gelatin and let it dissolve, about 5 minutes. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the cream and sugar over low heat. Cook, stirring, just until the sugar is dissolved and the cream bubbles around the edges, about 4 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, and add the milk mixture, coffee granules, Sambuca, vanilla, and salt. Stir until the coffee and gelatin are dissolved and the mixture is completely smooth. Pour into eight 5-ounce ramekins, and chill until set, overnight.

Garnish the top of the panna cotta with chocolate-covered espresso beans or crumbled chocolate biscotti.