Chocolate panna cotta is silky and smooth with a deep chocolate taste. It’s easy to prepare, then chilled in the fridge—an ideal make-ahead dessert for dinner parties, weekend treats, or special occasions.
Panna cotta, an Italian classic meaning cooked cream, is one of the simplest desserts to make. You can vary it widely—vanilla, lemon, strawberry and, of course, chocolate are all excellent choices.
What chocolate to use?
For this recipe I prefer dark chocolate. Since panna cotta relies on cream, milk, sugar and vanilla for richness, dark chocolate—ideally 70% cacao or higher—gives the dessert a balanced, intense cocoa flavor. Milk chocolate will make it noticeably sweeter and reduce the depth of chocolate character.
Adding chocolate transforms the panna cotta’s texture, giving it a mousse-like creaminess that’s smooth, slightly airy and very satisfying. It’s a lovely, light finish to a meal.
How to make chocolate panna cotta – step by step
1. Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes until they soften.
2. Combine the cream, milk and sugar in a saucepan. Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds, adding both seeds and pod to the pan. Warm the mixture over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a gentle simmer, then remove from the heat.
Tip: Place the used vanilla pod in a jar of sugar to infuse it with a subtle vanilla aroma you can use for baking.
3. Add the finely chopped dark chocolate to the hot cream mixture and stir slowly until the chocolate melts completely.
4. Remove the gelatine from the water and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Add the softened gelatine to the hot chocolate cream and whisk continuously until it dissolves. Set the pan aside to cool slightly.
5. Once the mixture has cooled a little, strain it into serving glasses to remove the vanilla pod and any solids. Refrigerate for 2–3 hours, or until set, before serving.
More Italian desserts to try
Italian Desserts
Vanilla Panna Cotta (classic recipe)
Italian Desserts
Boozy Bailey’s Panna Cotta
Italian Desserts
White Chocolate Panna Cotta
Italian Desserts
Chocolate Semifreddo Recipe
- Orange chocolate cantucci biscuits
- Pandoro Christmas cake with pistachios and white chocolate
- Tiramisu ice cream
- Apple olive oil cake
- Chocolate hazelnut ice cream
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Step by step photos above
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Chocolate Panna Cotta
By Emily
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup (300ml) cream
- 1 1/8 cup (250ml) milk
- 3 leaves gelatine* see notes for conversion
- 1 1/2 tbsp (20g) sugar
- 3.5 oz (100g) dark chocolate 70% cacao, finely chopped (or dark chocolate chips)
- 1/2 vanilla pod
Instructions
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Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 10 minutes until soft.
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Heat the cream, milk and sugar with the vanilla seeds and pod over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture just comes to a simmer, then remove from the heat.
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Stir in the finely chopped chocolate until it has fully melted into the warm cream.
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Squeeze excess water from the gelatine and whisk it into the hot chocolate cream until dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool slightly.
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Strain into serving glasses and chill in the refrigerator for 2–3 hours to set.
Notes
- Three gelatine leaves can be substituted with about 1 tablespoon of powdered gelatine; this recipe has not been tested with powdered gelatine by the author.
Helpful info for all recipes
- I use extra virgin olive oil in recipes unless stated otherwise.
- For canned or jarred tomatoes I recommend well-known quality brands for consistent flavour.
- Vegetable sizes are assumed medium unless noted.
- Recipes are tested using a fan (convection) oven.
- Nutrition information is calculated automatically and should be treated as an approximation.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate.