This mascarpone panna cotta with lemon gelée and florentine crumble really hits all the notes of a good dessert: creamy, crunchy, sour, and sweet! Learn how to make this make-ahead dessert with this easy recipe.
Components
The inspiration for this make-ahead dessert is cheesecake and also lemon meringue pie. To achieve this, we have a:
- panna cotta made with mascarpone so that it is creamy, rich, and smooth
- lemon jelly topping to add tang and sour notes to balance it out
- oat florentine cookies (recipe tweaked from Nestlé) with a slight caramel flavour reminiscent of graham crackers, crumbled over each jar of panna cotta.
Timeline for this make-ahead dessert
For panna cotta desserts that are set with gelatin, you need to prepare them early enough so that the gelatin has time to set. Here's a schedule:
- 1 day before serving: make the florentines and the panna cotta.
- ½ day before serving (once panna cotta has set): make the lemon jelly and assemble
The finished dessert reminded me a lot of a lemon creamsicle, not quite the cheesecake flavour I had dreamed of. Still, I think they turned out beautifully, creamy and sweet on the bottom, with the tart jelly and nutty, crispy, caramel-y crumble on top.
For a plain sweet milk panna cotta, try this vanilla bean panna cotta served with strawberry jam. Or for a more elaborate dessert, these Earl Grey panna cotta tarts are beautiful and impressive!
📖 Recipe
Mascarpone panna cotta with lemon jelly and florentine crumble
Ingredients
Mascarpone panna cotta
- 60 mL water
- 5 mL Knox unflavoured gelatin powder equivalent to 2.8 grams by weight
- 310 mL whipping cream (35 % fat) divided
- 125 mL mascarpone
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 2.5 mL finely grated lemon zest zest of ~ half a lemon
- 2.5 mL pure vanilla extract
Lemon jelly
- 125 mL fresh lemon juice
- 12.5 mL Knox unflavoured gelatin powder 1 packet or 7 grams
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 250 mL water
Assembly
- 1 batch oat florentine cookies
Instructions
Mascarpone panna cotta
- In a small stainless steel bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Set aside to bloom for about 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the mascarpone with the sugar, 1 cup of the cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Set aside.
- Add the final ¼ cup of cream to the bloomed gelatin, and set the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Heat the gelatin/cream mixture until the gelatin has dissolved and you can no longer see the gelatin flakes, stirring constantly.
- Take the gelatin off the heat and stir it into the mascarpone mixture.
- Pour the panna cotta into 4 glasses or ramekins.
- Transfer to the fridge and chill to set, about 3 hours, if not overnight.
Lemon jelly
- Pour ¼ cup of lemon juice in a 2-cup measurer or a medium bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over top. Set aside to bloom at least 5 minutes.
- In a small saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil to completely dissolve the sugar.
- Pour the syrup over the gelatin, and whisk to dissolve the gelatin.
- Add the remaining ¼ cup of lemon juice. Let the lemon jelly cool to room temperature before using.
Assembly
- When the panna cottas are set, and the lemon jelly has cooled to room temperature, pour the lemon jelly over top each of the panna cotta. Pour as little or as much as you would like (I poured a 1-inch layer on mine, but I think a half-inch would have been better).
- Chill in the fridge to set the jelly, about 1 hour.
- Crumble 2 of the florentine cookies over each of the panna cottas before serving.
Notes
- Panna cotta loosely based on this recipe featured in the Toronto Star newspaper
- Given the acidity of the lemon juice, I used a full packet of gelatin so that it would set properly.
Jan says
Crumbling the florentines over top made it so much easier to enjoy all the components of the dessert in every bite 🙂
Sirius73 says
Your Panna Cotta looks delicious!
Torviewtoronto says
looks like you had fun with the elephants
panna cotta and presentation looks fabulous
chef_d says
Mascarpone panna cotta with lemon gelee sounds so good! And nice presentation of the florentine cookies as crumble.
Irvin says
Oh wonderful! I love the clear lemon jelly on top. And the crumbled florentines on top look fantastic. What a great combination!
Also, awesome photo of you with the elephants!
Wilde in the Kitchen says
You flavors sound delicious! Looks like it all came together nicely. Great work this month!
Lizzy says
Simple, yet beautiful! Lovely presentation~
Lindsey @ Gingerbread Bagels says
Your panna cotta is so beautiful! I love the idea of making a lemon jelly. It sounds sooo good. 🙂 And what a great idea to top the panna cotta with crumbled florentine cookies!
C&C Cakery says
Silky panna cotta partnered with the tart lemon jelly and the final crunch of the florentine make for a trio made in heaven 🙂 thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
Eileen says
Your Panna Cotta looks and sounds so tasty. I love the idea of making it with lemon jelly. Great job!
Lynn @ I'll Have What She's Having says
Looks delicious! I love the elephant picture 🙂