Sour Cream Panna Cotta With Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

This delicious sour cream panna cotta makes the perfect no bake summer dessert!

Right now we are in the middle of a heat wave here in Manitoba. Hot and humid weather calls for a light and refreshing summery dessert! This panna cotta is the perfect answer. Plus since it is no bake, you don’t have to make the house warmer than necessary. All you have to do is heat up your base to dissolve the gelatin and viola! Panna cotta is ready to set in the fridge!

The roasted strawberry rhubarb sauce does use the oven so if the weather is super hot you might want to go with a stovetop option or simply slice fresh strawberries on top!

History of panna cotta

Panna cotta is a Italian dessert that means simply “cooked cream”. The early versions of this were sometimes thickened with fish bones! Wow, not sure about that one, lol. Interestingly, panna cotta is not mentioned in Italian cookbooks until around the 1960’s. One story even says it was invented by a Hungarian woman. It is now one of the traditional desserts of the northern region of Italy called Piedmont, and became popular in the U.S. in the 1990’s.

Panna cotta should be smooth and creamy

However panna cotta came about, I’m very glad it did! This simple dessert should be luxuriously creamy with a melt in your mouth texture that has no trace of lumps or grittiness. There’s just nothing quite as refreshing as the cold creaminess of panna cotta on a hot summer day! But it is also delicious any time of year. My birthday is in November and that doesn’t stop me from having it for dessert!

Adding sour cream to panna cotta gives a extra special flavor of slightly tart, silky smoothness that is so delicious! This recipe calls for one cup of sour cream which is exactly the amount in the small 250ml containers.

Panna cotta is very easy to make

For a long time I had the impression that panna cotta was this elegant, fancy dessert that took a long time to make and might not turn out. But then I actually made it and realized how wrong that was! Other desserts like custards and Bavarian creams involve thickening with eggs, which is slightly more time consuming. Panna cotta on the other hand, is as easy as heating up your creamy base, dissolving in some bloomed gelatin, and pouring into jars!

I think it was the gelatin blooming process that sounded involved to me. But to do this you just have to sprinkle it on top of cold water and let it sit while you do the rest of the recipe. It’s just that easy!

It also makes a great make ahead dessert

Panna cotta is the perfect dessert to make ahead of time! It has to set for about six hours anyway, so you can definitely make it a day or two in advance of when you are going to need it. All that’s left to do before serving is topping it with a spoonful of sauce. What a great way to free up time in the kitchen for your summer backyard parties!

Why roasted strawberry rhubarb sauce?

Roasting any fruit or vegetable brings out a extra layer of sweetness that adds depth of flavor. This adds a special touch compared to stovetop sauces. And I even think it is easier to make! You just have to throw the strawberries and rhubarb into the oven and let it do it’s magic! Once they are soft, they just need to be mashed up with your favorite low carb sweetener, and it’s good to go.

Sweeten to your taste

I do have a sweet tooth, but sometimes I prefer things not overly sweet. This sauce has a slight tartness that contrasts the smooth creaminess of the panna cotta, but feel free to sweeten it up more if desired.

The same goes for the panna cotta! Some recipes are sweeter, others are a more mild, delicate sweetness. I would say my version leans more toward the mildly sweet side, so taste before removing from the heat to make sure it’s as sweet as you want.

The sweetener I use

My favorite Trim Healthy Mama or low carb sweetener is the Sweet Mix recipe from the cookbook Food For Life. It is cheaper to make a bulk recipe like this than buy it. Sweet Mix is one third as sweet as sugar which is the same as Truvia, and similar to Gentle Sweet. Or simply use your favorite sweetener to taste.

[ I also have a handy sweetener conversion chart available so make sure you subscribe to this blog or enter your email in the sweetener chart pop up to receive that straight to your inbox!]

What kind of gelatin?

You can use any plain unflavored gelatin for this recipe. This ranges from the common Knox brand you can find in the Jello section of a grocery store to an organic brand like Great Lakes.

A few other ingredient notes

I call for cashew milk in this recipe since I find it creamier than other nut milks. But you could sub in almond milk

Also, I LOVE using real vanilla beans if I have any on hand for a exotic vanilla flavor. Plus the speckles of the bean in the panna cotta look so gourmet! But I get that you might not have vanilla beans in your pantry so you can definitely substitute vanilla extract. Use 1/2 of a tablespoon of extract to replace 1/2 a vanilla bean.

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only link products I personally use and love.

Ingredients you will need:

For the panna cotta:

Gelatin

Water

Cashew milk

Half and half

Whipping cream

Sea salt

Vanilla bean or vanilla extract

Truvia or other sweetener

Sour cream

For the strawberry rhubarb sauce:

Fresh rhubarb

Fresh strawberries

Avocado or olive oil

Truvia

Lemon juice

Print this recipe here:

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Sour Cream Panna Cotta with Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

A creamy, no bake summer dessert that is easy to make and perfect for hot weather.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Total Time6 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: THM S

Servings: 6

Ingredients

For the panna cotta:

• 1/4 cup cold water
• 3 teaspoons gelatin
• 1 cup cashew milk
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 vanilla bean OR 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons Truvia or sweetener of choice
• 1 cup [250ml] sour cream

For the sauce:

• 3 cups roughly diced rhubarb
• 2 cups halved strawberries
• 1 teaspoon avocado or olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• 3 tablespoons Truvia or to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the rhubarb and strawberries in a roasting pan with edges and drizzle with the oil. I use a casserole dish. Roast 30 minutes or until soft and juicy.
• Squeeze over the juice of half a lemon and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of sweetener. Mash with a potato masher or fork. Tase and adjust sweetner if necessary. Pour into a jar and let cool to room temperature before storing in the refridgerator.
• For the panna cotta, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a small bowl and let sit.
• In a medium sized saucepan, combine the cashew milk, half and half, whipping cream, sweetener and salt. If using a vanilla bean, scrape in the seeds and also add the pod. Or just add the vanilla extract.
• Stir over medium heat until just below a simmer. You don’t want it to break into a boil. Add in the softened gelatin and stir until dissolved.
• Remove from heat, taste and adjust sweetener if desired, and remove the vanilla pod if using. Let sit 5 minutes, then stir in the sour cream.
• Pour into small jars.
• Let sit in the fridge 6 hours or until completely set. Leave uncovered until cool, then you can cover them if desired so they don’t get a fridge taste.
• Serve topped with a spoonful of strawberry rhubarb sauce!

Pin this recipe for later:

All recipes and photos on this blog are created by and the property of Homespun Eats. Feel free to share a photo or link of a recipe and give credit to Homespun Eats, but copying a recipe or post in it’s entirety is strictly not allowed.