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Smoking Chimney

Recipes from a working kitchen · Cape Town

Raspberry Christmas Panna Cotta

By Marna Ross Updated 12 August 2026 4.69 from 16 ratings Italian
Raspberry Christmas Panna Cotta is a quick and easy summer’s dessert to celebrate Christmas. Just as the White chocolate and Nougat Semifreddo, this panna cotta can be made in advance. You just pop it in the fridge to set and off you go! The beautiful red colour of the raspberry coulis on top adds to the perfect colour of your Christmas table. Panna cotta is a classical Italian dessert and you can play around with all the different variations of it. You don't need to be a professional chef or cook to be able to make this beautiful, seductive and creamy dessert. I can definitely recommend to use vanilla pods/ vanilla beans to make the basic panna cotta. The flavour of the vanilla pods/beans are waaayyyyy better than vanilla essence. And with the small seeds, it just looks so much better on the festive eye! During the festive season raspberries and strawberries are in abundance - especially Woolworth's berries last much longer than other local supermarkets from my experience. It looks extra beautiful if you make these raspberry Christmas panna cotta in the original panna cotta forms. Another tip when making these, please use gelatine powder instead of the sheets. The powder is much easier to work with and to measure than the sheets. If you follow the gelatine instructions carefully you will also most likely not find that your panna cotta top has made a layer of see through gel. This happens when you work wrong with the gelatine. And it didn't blend well into the mixture.
Festive creamy raspberry Christmas panna cotta topped with fresh red berries and syrup.
Prep 20 min
Cook 20 min
Total 40 min
Serves 6

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Ingredients

Basic Panna Cotta

  • 30 ml water
  • 15 ml gelatine powder
  • 500 ml cream
  • 80 ml icing sugar
  • 2 vanilla pods/beans, cut lengthwise and seeds scraper
  • 5 ml vanilla essence

Raspberry Jelly

  • 15 ml gelatine
  • 30 ml water
  • ½ cup caster sugar
  • 1¼ cup water
  • 1 cup fresh raspberries for garnish

Method

Basic Panna Cotta

  1. Spray the panna cotta tins very well with spray and cook. This makes it easier for when turning them out

  2. Pour the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatine over the water.Let it stand for 5 minutes until the gelatine absorbed all the water

  3. In the mean time, heat the cream, icing sugar, vanilla pod, seeds and vanilla essence in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved

  4. Heat the gelatine for 30 seconds in the micro wave on the defrost option.It must just be melted and runny. Stir it well if it is a bit lumpy. (you want no lumps, so pop it quickly back in if you see lumps - but be very, very quick)

  5. Add the gelatine mixture to the cream mixture and whisk until the gelatine has dissolved and it is well incorporated in the mixture.(This is to prevent a gelatine layer on top)

  6. Discard the vanilla pod and divide the mixture evenly among the tins

  7. Place in the fridge until set

  8. Turn the panna cottas out on the desired serving plate.Press the panna cottas bottoms in warm water to come loose if you struggle to turn them out

Raspberry Jelly

  1. Pour the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatine over the water to sponge.Keep aside

  2. Heat the caster sugar, water and raspberries in a small sauce pan over medium heat.Stir until the sugar has dissolved.Pour through a sieve

  3. Melt the gelatine for 30 seconds in the microwave on the defrost option until it has melted and has no lumps

  4. Add to the raspberry mixture and and whisk throughout.Let cool

  5. Pour over the set vanilla panna cotta and refrigerate for another 3 hours until set.Serve with fresh raspberries

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