I know, I’ve told you repeatedly that panna cotta’s are my new dessert fave: Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Cranberry Port Glaze, Pumpkin Spice Chai Panna Cotta, Peach and Buttermilk Panna Cotta, Strawberry Buttermilk Panna Cotta, Coffee Panna Cotta with Biscoff Cookie Crumbs, and there are even more!!
One of the reasons is because of the yummy raw milk that we get from our herd share. We get it in two half gallon mason jars and they both have a layer of rich cream at the top. So, I have lots of milk to use up and I can think of no better way to use it up then with a panna cotta, though now that the weather is warming up, I’ll probably switch over to something frozen.
I was in the mood for something chocolate (pretty much an everyday mood), when I stumbled upon Mint Chocolate Chip Panna Cotta at Serious Eats. Mint chocolate chip was always my favorite flavor of ice cream to get, you know when you had 31 flavors to choose from, so this sounded perfect.
And it was. Sort of. First of all, I used my DIY Mint Extract and it was wonderful. The base of the this panna cotta with the mint extract and the vanilla was so good, that if you don’t care for chocolate, would be perfectly lovely all by itself. Where the recipe fell apart for me was the addition of the chocolate. The recipe tells you to chill the panna cotta until it is thick. While it is chilling, you are to melt the chocolate until is liquid, but not hot. I don’t know how to make hard chocolate liquid without it being hot! Then you are supposed to drizzle the chocolate over the panna cotta and as it hardens, stir to break it up. Well, my chocolate didn’t really drizzle, it was more of a pour. The panna cotta was not cold enough for it to immediately harden, instead it just sort of lumped together in a ball with the consistency of a slightly hard peanut butter.
I think next time I will allow the panna cotta to chill and then top with a chocolate layer on top, so that as you break through it you get a little bit of chocolate with your minty panna cotta. What do you think?
Follow the link above and give it a try and let me know how it worked for you, or if you tried a different way. I will definitely make this again, probably in a frozen variety!
Laura says
I have always wanted to try panna cotta (making it I mean) and this is the recipe to push me past the hump. Holy wow. My whole family would go bonkers for this!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
Panna cotta is a favorite dessert of mine as well. So easy to prepare and I just love the texture. So versatile too (as you've clearly shown). Well done!
Katie @ Recipe for Perfection says
I, too, love panna cotta. It's neat that you made your own mint extract! I'm not usually a fan of mint extracts, so I usually try infusing fresh mint into butter or milk to get that fresh mint taste. But maybe I'd like a mint extract if I made it myself, so I'll have to try that! 🙂
cristina says
Chocolate can be so tricky to work with. I have my share of chocolate not behaving as expected. Your mint choco-chip panna cotta looks like it turned out beautifully. Nicely paired flavors and pretty presentation. 🙂
Marye says
I love this! Sorry the chocolate didn't work - I hate when that happens. I actually think the layer on the top sounds better than having it chipped inside the panna cotta.
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
First, HERD SHARE? I want that!
Second, I like your new plan to have a thin layer on top and break through it with the spoon while eating. It would be sort of like chocolate shell, right?
heather @french press says
i love panna cotta, and this sounds delicious, but goat cheese panna cotta, that I must try
grace says
mint chocolate chip is a favorite ice cream of mine too, so even though this wasn't perfect, i like the intention!
Sippity Sup says
You could always add some of that herd share cream to the chocolate making a ganche that's more likely to pour. Though I admit I haven't popped over to check out the recipe yet. GREG
Jessica Jarrell says
I like your idea of doing a chocolate layer on top. I think it would give the dessert a little something extra. Although I must say, these look fantastic as they are! 🙂
Joanne says
Bummer that the chocolate didn't really work! Thankfully I'm sure it was absolutely wonderful, regardless!
~~louise~~ says
Hi Pam,
I just went over to see that recipe at Serious Eats and for the life of me, quite honestly, I don't know how you could have done it any differently.
However, it may not matter because the concept is quite intriguing and I'm sure delicious too. My favorite "31" flavors was Kahlua & Cream but, Mint Chocolate Chip is also high on my list so, I would have no problem digging into your Panna Cotta with no problem at all! A frozen version? Oh my, yes!
Thanks so much for sharing, Pam...