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    Home » Recipes » Desserts

    Published: Feb 6, 2020 · Modified: Nov 18, 2020 by Usha Rao

    Mocha Panna Cotta for Valentine's Day

    Jump to Recipe

    Mocha panna cotta is instant coffee and chocolate flavored creamy Italian pudding. It is a perfect dessert for any occasion and especially for chocolate lovers.

    A plate of heart shaped mocha panna cotta garnished with raspberries and blueberries

    What is Panna Cotta?

    Panna cotta is an easy, creamy Italian dessert prepared with cream, sugar and gelatin. Pudding is set in a mould and refrigerated for 1-2 hours until set. Panna cotta literally means cooked cream and I guess you can call it a pudding. Panna cotta comes in many flavors and mocha panna cotta is one of them.

    What is Mocha Panna Cotta?

    Mocha panna cotta is a chocolate and instant coffee flavored panna cotta. To the basic panna cotta recipe, add some chocolate and instant coffee, and a delicious dessert is ready.

    Ingredients

    Cream, sugar, gelatin and flavoring agent of choice are the basic ingredients. To cut down on calories, use half and half, and milk as this recipe. Most common flavorings for panna cotta are vanilla, chocolate and/or instant coffee. For mocha flavor use both chocolate and instant coffee and leave out instant coffee for chocolate panna cotta.

    What is Gelatin?

    Gelatin is a brittle powder prepared from animal collagen. Soak it in water before using and becomes sticky when dissolved in water. It comes in powder form as well as in sheets. I work with powder gelatin which is available in most of supermarket in the United States.

    Substitute gelatin with agar agar for vegan or vegetarian version. I did not substitute it for gelatin in panna cotta and am assuming you can use same quantity as gelatin. Agar agar is available in Chinese, some Asian and Indian stores.

    A plate of heart shaped mocha panna cotta garnished with raspberries and blueberries styled on a white background

    How to prepare?

    • Soak gelatin in some warm water.
    • Bring cream or cream + milk to a boil, add chocolate, instant coffee and mix well.
    • Add sugar and gelatin. Mix well, remove from fire.
    • When the mixture cools, strain and pour in small ramekins and refrigerate for 1 -2 hours until set.

    How to serve?

    Serve in the ramekin or unmould onto a plate and serve with some fruits. An alternative is to serve with some fruit sauce. I prefer serving with some fresh fruits; raspberries, blueberries or strawberries.

    When to serve?

    Panna cotta is a great dessert for date nights, Valentine's day, Mothers Day and any special occasion. You do not need an occasion to prepare this dessert. It is perfect dessert for any day!! Definitely a delight for chocoholics. Ultimate chocolate brownies with no churn ice cream is another delight for chocoholics and perfect dessert for Valentine's day or Mothers Day.

    A plate of half eaten heart shaped mocha panna cotta garnished with blueberries and raspberries

    Mocha Panna Cotta Recipe

    Adapted from: Sanjeev Kapoor’s Khana Khazana

    📖 Recipe

    Heart shaped mocha panna cotta garnished with raspberries and blueberries

    Mocha Panna Cotta

    It is a creamy, no bake Italian dessert prepared with cream , gelatin and sugar. Mocha flavor comes from chocolate and instant coffee.
    5 from 9 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Italian
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Refrigerate: 2 hours hours
    Total Time: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 332kcal
    Author: Usha Rao

    Equipment

    • Ramekins or small straight edged pans or bowls
    • Sauce Pan

    Ingredients

    • ¾ cup Cream I use half & half
    • ¾ cup Milk I use 2% milk
    • 50 grams Dark Chocolate grated I used unsweetened bitter chocolate
    • 1 tbsp. Instant Coffee Powder
    • 4 tbsp. Brown Sugar I used 5 tbsp. white sugar
    • 1 ½ tsp. Gelatin or 1 envelope of unflavored gelatin

    Instructions

    • Grate or cut chocolate into small pieces.
    • Take gelatin in a bowl and pour some cold or warm water, just enough to soak the gelatin.
    • Heat milk and cream (half & half) in a pan.
    • When milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium – medium low, add instant coffee & chocolate, and mix until chocolate melts.
    • Add sugar and gelatin and mix well. Taste the mixture and add sugar if needed.
    • Remove from fire, cool the mixture, strain it and pour it into small containers. I used 2 ramekins and 2 heart shaped mini cake pans.
    • Cover the pans and the ramekins with a saran wrap and refrigerate until set. It should set in at least an hour or two but I usually keep it for 4 hours.
    • Serve the panna cotta as it is in the ramekins or flip it over onto a plate. I tried flipping the panna cotta from the ramekins, which is sometimes challenging. However, it is a lot easier with the straight edge pans or heart shaped pans. With a knife or with the butter spreader, slightly run it around the pan to loosen the pannacotta. Place a plate on the pan and flip it over.
    • Serve the mocha panna cotta as it is or with some berries of one’s choice.

    Notes

    • Cream - I use half and half to cut back on calories. Use creamy if you want indulge
    • Milk - Use whole milk for a thick pudding but 2% milk also works fine.
    • Flavor - Substitute chocolate and instant coffee with your favorite flavor. Vanilla, and chocolate are the two flavors I tried.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 332kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 48mg | Potassium: 334mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 735IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Share a photo! Mention @usha_myspicykitchen or tag #Usha_MySpicyKitchen!

    Note - Post edited and republished in Feb 2020

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    Reader Interactions

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    1. Anshu says

      March 04, 2020 at 3:33 am

      5 stars
      Wooooow, the pannacotta looks so delicious and the pics are making it look even more irrisistible...

      Reply
    2. sasmita says

      February 20, 2020 at 8:38 am

      Wow I am in love with the shape of this panna cotta !
      So so perfectly you have made ... decorated with fresh fruits it is looking much beautiful..

      Reply
    3. Swati says

      February 13, 2020 at 8:59 pm

      5 stars
      So gorgeous pics!! treat to the eyes and taste buds.. prefect for Valentine's day!! Loved your stepwise detailed process steps

      Reply
      • Usha Rao says

        February 13, 2020 at 9:01 pm

        Thank you Swati

        Reply
    4. Uma Srinivas says

      February 13, 2020 at 8:42 pm

      5 stars
      Mocha Panna cotta look so yummy! perfect for Valentine's day! the recipe looks easy and beautifully explained.

      Reply
      • Usha Rao says

        February 13, 2020 at 8:59 pm

        Thank you Uma.

        Reply
    5. Sandhya Ramakrishnan says

      February 13, 2020 at 1:22 pm

      5 stars
      This is just the perfect recipe for Valentine's day! I love the beautiful glaze on your Panna Cotta. The pictures are brilliant.

      Reply
      • Usha Rao says

        February 13, 2020 at 9:00 pm

        Thank you Sandhya

        Reply
    6. Priya Srinivasan says

      February 13, 2020 at 4:50 am

      5 stars
      So beautifully done usha! the shape has come out so perfect and love how you have presented it with fresh fruits!!! And that contrast colors makes the picture pop!!!!

      Reply
      • Usha Rao says

        February 13, 2020 at 9:00 pm

        Thanks Priya

        Reply
    7. Shailender Sharma says

      February 11, 2020 at 10:45 am

      5 stars
      Mocha panna cotta looks like a blast. So much beauty in it. A perfect one for the valentine.

      Reply
      • Usha Rao says

        February 13, 2020 at 9:00 pm

        Thank you.

        Reply
    8. Lata Lala says

      February 11, 2020 at 9:55 am

      5 stars
      Mocha pana cotta is a perfect dish to impress your valentine. Loved the way you have served it in heart shape, so cute it looks.

      Reply
      • Usha Rao says

        February 13, 2020 at 8:59 pm

        Thanka Lata

        Reply
    9. Mayuri Patel says

      February 11, 2020 at 4:18 am

      5 stars
      Yummmmmmy! My all time favorite dessert is panna cotta not only because its so creamy but its so easy to make. Will have to try out the mocha flavour. As for same amount of agar agar to replace gelatin works. I've used both powder and flakes. For powder its exactly the same amount as gelatin and for flakes you take tbsp measurement. So for this recipe it will be 1 1/2 tbsp of flakes and 1 1/2tsp of powder.

      Reply
      • Usha Rao says

        February 11, 2020 at 5:02 am

        Mayuri, thanks for sharing the replacement measurements for agar agar. That is very helpful.

        Reply
    10. Pavani says

      February 10, 2020 at 2:10 pm

      5 stars
      That is a creamy and delicious Panna cotta Usha. Making it in heart shape makes it just perfect for Valentine's day!!

      Reply
      • Usha Rao says

        February 10, 2020 at 10:18 pm

        Thanks Pavani

        Reply
    11. Poornima says

      March 06, 2014 at 3:13 am

      wow.... looks fantastic.... im drooling right now.... looooved it...

      Reply
    12. Mireille says

      February 20, 2014 at 1:07 am

      even though no sunlight I find the brightness of sky when it is snowing is great for taking pictures and that 1st photo with the snowflakes looks awesome!

      Reply
    13. Pavani says

      February 19, 2014 at 10:06 pm

      Mocha pannacotta sounds so sinfully delicious. Clicks have come out absolutely gorgeous. Very tempting indeed.

      Reply
    14. Priya Srinivasan says

      February 16, 2014 at 9:07 am

      ohoo, ahhaaa, i m so loving it, i called everyone in my family to come and look @ this picture now!!! All are just glued to the screen behind me as i type the comment. I m so definitely making this for the weekend!!! 🙂

      Reply
    15. themadscientistskitchen says

      February 16, 2014 at 7:48 am

      WOooooooooooww! Bookmarking Absolutely love it.

      Reply
    16. vijayalakshmi says

      February 16, 2014 at 7:25 am

      wow it looks so heaven... Love the presentation and apt treat for V day... 🙂

      Reply
    17. Srivalli says

      February 16, 2014 at 7:24 am

      Wow usha, the first picture is classic!..actually all the pics look stunning, however the first one has a fantastic effect!

      Reply

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