Buttermilk Panna Cotta

I love tangy, sour, not-so-sweet desserts. I also love everything involving buttermilk — pancakes, biscuits, ranch dressing… ALL of it. My Italian grandmother, Josephine, used to drink a glass of buttermilk every. single. day. What can I say? It’s in my blood.

Panna cotta is also a fave for its versatility to combine other flavors. I added raw raspberries to this for extra tang, but you could top it with diced pears, caramel sauce, roasted rhubarb, any of your favorites.

Serves 5 or 6 people for dessert

What you need:

1 1/4 Cup buttermilk
1 packet gelatin (about 2 1/4 tsp)
1/2 Cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup (or you can use real maple syrup)
1/2 Cup Labne (Labne is sold at most groceries stores but if you would prefer, you can use sour cream)
1 Cup heavy cream
1/4 Cup half n’ half

Topping: I used thawed raspberries from the freezer but they are tangy and unsweetened, so top it with whatever you’re craving.

Pour cold buttermilk into a sauce pan and sprinkle the gelatin all over the buttermilk and let sit for 2-3 minutes. The gelatin will “bloom” and start to dissolve. Add the syrup to the pan and turn on low/medium heat, whisking continuously until the gelatin and sweeteners and incorporated. This takes just a few minutes. Keep the heat on low to prevent the gelatin from overheating and denaturing. Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the heavy cream, half n’ half and labne. Stir everything to combine fully. Using a ladle, fill mason jars or ramekins with the mixture. Cover with lids or plastic wrap and place in fridge. It will set up in about 1 1/2 hours but you can easily make this several hours (or a full day) ahead of time. It will keep in the fridge for 4 or 5 days. I love using recycled jars with lids because I can pack them in Garrett’s lunch or throw them in a bag for an outing.