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!
Torviewtoronto says
looks like you had fun with the elephantspanna cotta and presentation looks fabulous
Sirius73 says
Your Panna Cotta looks delicious!
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!
chef_d says
Mascarpone panna cotta with lemon gelee sounds so good! And nice presentation of the florentine cookies as crumble.
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 🙂