Rich, creamy vanilla bean panna cotta topped with caramel dulce de leche and Himalayan pink salt – Quick and easy 15 minute make-ahead dessert that you’ll fall in love with!
Let’s start this off right, have you ever had Panna Cotta? It is a incredibly simple Italian eggless custard that you can whip up on the stovetop in about 10 minutes. Seriously. I absolutely love to make panna cotta because it’s like adult pudding. You can make it WAY ahead for dinner parties, it’s very impressive and fun to say “pannnnna cotta!,” and you can top the vanilla bean infused custard with anything or everything.
This time around, I chose to top mine with a rich caramel dulce de leche sauce, which you can totally buy (trader joes has an amazing Salted Caramel Sauce that works really well) or make your own. I’ll put instructions below if you want to make your own, it’s surprisingly very simple. If you’re into something more fruity, you could macerate some berries in sugar and lemon zest, orange segments, mango…I mean anything goes with vanilla bean panna cotta. Next thing, I add two tablespoons of Disaronno, which is an amaretto almond liqueur. It adds a beautiful background almond flavor without being too overwhelming or boozy. If you’re not into (but I think you should be!) leave it out. This recipe is very riff-able.
One thing you may be doing for the first time when you make this recipe is using gelatin. Don’t be intimidated. First, let me explain to you where to find it: in almost every grocery store, next to the Jell-O boxes, you’ll find a small box of gelatin packets. You need to ‘bloom’ the gelatin powder by pouring it over a few tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. Let it stand for a couple of minutes, and you will see it instantly thicken the liquid. Then, all you have to do is whisk it into the warm milk and sugar mixture, and that’s it! I top it all off with a little finely ground pink salt right before serving, but if you have flakey sea salt, like Maldon, that would be amazing here as well. Plan ahead, this Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta needs to chill for at least 3-4 hours before you can dive in <3
Love this recipe? Be sure to check out Chocolate Creme Cups, White Chocolate Mousse with Roasted Strawberries, Fresh Strawberry Mascarpone Mousse
Make sure to tag me @leanne.shor on Instagram if you make this Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Dulce de Leche and Pink Salt! I love seeing my recipes come to life! To pin this recipe and save it to your favorite boards, simply Tap any image on this page and the ‘Pin It!’ icon will appear, or click the icon at the end of each post 
xxoo, LeAnne
Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Dulce de Leche and Pink Salt
Rich, creamy vanilla bean panna cotta topped with caramel dulce de leche and Himalayan pink salt - Quick and easy 15 minute make-ahead dessert that you'll fall in love with!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 2 tsp powdered unflavored gelatin
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp Disaronno amaretto liqueur optional
- 1 cup dulce de leche or good caramel sauce
- 1 tsp pink Himalayan salt
Instructions
Pour the cold water into a small bowl, and sprinkle the unflavored powdered gelatin on top. Set aside to allow the gelatin to bloom. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the heavy cream, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, whisk to combine. Warm the cream mixture over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, and little bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan. This should take about 3-4 minutes. Don't leave the pan unattended or the cream may boil over and burn.
Remove the hot cream mixture from the heat, and stir the solidified gelatin mixture with a whisk until completely incorporated. Add in the vanilla extract, pinch of kosher salt, and Disaronno, mix well.
Pour the mixture into 4-5 small jars, ramekins, or cups. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 3 hours, until the panna cotta has set.
To serve, spoon a large tablespoon of dulce de leche on top of each cup of panna cotta, then sprinkle with pink salt. If the dulce de leche has thickened up, warm it up in the microwave on low with 1-2 tablespoons of cream or whole milk, and whisk to smooth it out.
Recipe Notes
Easy Homemade Dulce de Leche:
Place a 14 oz. can of Sweetened Condensed Milk (label removed) in a large pot. Fill the pot with room temperature water, that covers the can by about 3 inches. Bring the pot up to a boil over high heat, then reduce to an even simmer for about 3 1/2 hours for a thick, dark caramel. Check the water level every 1/2 hour, and add more water if necessary to keep the can submerged.
Carefully remove the hot can with tongs, and allow to cool COMPLETELY (this is important). Open the can and spoon out the mixture into a bowl, and add 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract, and 1/4 tsp kosher salt, whisk well to combine.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.