This 4 Ingredient Nutella Panna Cotta recipe will be your go-to dessert because it’s the simplest, very quick to put together and most importantly extremely delicious! It’s creamy, not too gelatinous, and what to say about the combination of chocolate and hazelnut? To make it even more irresistible, it has a whipped cream and chocolate topping. And serving it in a glass makes it just perfect!
Whether it’s the special finish to Valentine’s Day dinner, Sunday meal dessert or a treat for your friends or family, this Nutella Panna Cotta is it!
What’s Panna Cotta?
Panna cotta is a traditional Italian dessert and literally means cooked cream. Originally it called for eggs to help it curdle (since gelatine wasn’t a thing yet), so it could resemble a flan. But nowadays some gelling agent is used instead (such as gelatine sheets, gelatine powder, agar-agar), and as a result, we get a dairy-flavoured jelly.
Personally, I find the classic panna cotta a bit bland and when it has a super jelly consistency is not my jam. But by decreasing the point of gelatinization a little and mixing the classic ingredients with other flavours, you can get a killer dessert, like the Nutella Panna Cotta that I bring you today.
Nutella Panna Cotta Ingredients
- Cream: I use single cream (18% fat content). It makes the panna cotta lighter than if using whipping cream, which contains twice the fat, but at the same time provides creaminess. You could also use half and half, a mixture of semi-skimmed or whole milk and whipping cream. If using milk only, it wouldn’t be as creamy as it should.
- Sugar: it’s a key element of this dessert. By adding nutella, which is already sweet, I have tried to find a balance so that the result isn’t overly sweet.
- Nutella: what gives the unique flavour to this recipe. And needless to say, you can use your favourite chocolate hazelnut spread, in fact we could also call this recipe 4 Ingredient Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Panna Cotta :).
- Gelatine: it’s the ingredient that makes the panna cotta take consistency. IMPORTANT! Do not boil liquid with gelatine because it could become stringy. With that said, below I’m sharing a couple of options for types of gelatine you can use.
Gelatine Leaves Alternatives
This Nutella panna cotta recipe calls for gelatine sheets, but in case you can’t find them, let me give you a couple of options:
- Powdered Gelatine: For this recipe you’ll need 6.6 g (a very precise amount, I know, but it’s the exact equivalent of the weight of the sheets I use). Just as the leaves need to be soaked and drained, with powdered gelatine what we have to do is hydrate it. In a small bowl, mix 25 g of water with the gelatine and let it soak for 10 minutes. After this time, add it to the cream mixture as is.
- Agar-agar: for this recipe you’ll need 3 g. Agar-agar activates thanks to temperature, so in this recipe you’ll have to add it to the saucepan with the cream and heat it together.
Whipped Cream and Chocolate Topping
To make the panna cotta, we only need 4 ingredients, but with your permission, I’ll add 2 more for a topping (optional). As I see it, the chocolate and hazelnut spread panna cotta is already delicious, but this topping takes it next level.
The whipping cream is whipped without any sugar so that the dessert is not overly sweet. In my opinion, the whipped cream not only provides a texture contrast, but it also is a counterpoint to the chocolate (like when you are served a chocolate coulant with vanilla ice cream on the side).
And finally, a touch of chocolate shavings. To make them, it’s as easy as taking a chocolate bar and, with a knife or peeler, shaving the side. You can also buy ready-made shavings. Optionally, you can sprinkle the Nutella jars with cocoa powder. Depending on the day, I opt for one or the other.
More Nutella Desserts
If you make this 4 Ingredient Nutella Panna Cotta recipe, be sure to leave a comment and rate it. Hearing from you is everything! Oh, and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram, I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
4 Ingredient Nutella Panna Cotta
Equipment
- Glass Yoghurt Jars of 125 g capacity
Ingredients
Panna Cotta
- 5 g gelatine leaves - see notes
- 500 ml single cream - 18% fat content
- 100 g Nutella - or your favourite chocolate and hazelnut spread
- 50 g granulated sugar
Topping
- 100 ml whipping or double cream - 35% fat content. Optional.
- Chocolate bar - shaved, optional. See notes.
Instructions
Panna Cotta
- In a small bowl, put some cold water and sink the gelatine leaves.
- In a saucepan, bring the single cream to the boil over medium heat. Stir in the nutella and sugar, whisking untill well combined. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Remove the gelatine from the water and squeeze any excess water from it.
- Add the gelatine to the nutella cream and mix until it has completly dissolved.
- Divide the mixture between glasses. Let it cool completely at room temeperature before refrigerating it for at least 3 hours (preferably 8h).
Topping
- At the moment of serving, whip some cream (when you see it starts to get some consistency stop, it shouldn’t get too stiff).
- Top the glasses with a heaped tablespoon of whipped cream.
- Shave some chocolate on top and enjoy!
Notes
- Gelatin Leaves Alternatives
- Powdered Gelatine: For this recipe you’ll need 6.6 g. Replace step 1 with the following: in a small bowl, mix 25 g of water with the gelatin and let it soak for 10 minutes. Omit step 3 and continue with step 4.
- Agar-agar: for this recipe you’ll need 3 g. Agar-agar activates thanks to temperature, so in this recipe you’ll have to add it to the saucepan with the cream and heat it together. Omit steps 1, 3 and 4.
- You can also use cocoa powder as a final touch instead of using chocolate shavings.
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @paulasapron on Instagram and hashtag it #paulasapron.