Recipe By Lan Lam
Published on August 27, 2026
Interested in a luxurious make-ahead dessert that comes together with just a few strokes of a whisk? Read on.
Time
1 hr 20 minYield
Serves 8Why This Recipe Works
Our silky-smooth, delicately textured Thai basil panna cotta is an elegant dessert that requires some waiting but hardly any work. We made it even simpler by skipping the traditional step of sprinkling gelatin over cold water to bloom it before dissolving it in hot cream. Instead, we whisked together the gelatin, sugar, and salt and then whisked in cold heavy cream. Dispersed by the sugar and salt, the gelatin granules had plenty of space to absorb water from the cream, which readied the gelatin for heating. Bringing the mixture to 150 degrees ensured that the gelatin fully dissolved and extracted the fragrant oils from the Thai basil. To prevent curdling, we let the mixture cool to 110 degrees before adding the buttermilk. Finally, we portioned the panna cotta and refrigerated it until it was time to serve. To play up the spicy sweetness of the Thai basil, we served the panna cotta with macerated strawberries that we'd lightly seasoned with black pepper.
Ingredients
Panna Cotta
Strawberries
Instructions
Cook along with these step-by-step instructions
- Whisk sugar, gelatin, and salt in small saucepan until very well combined. Whisk in cream and let sit for 5 minutes. Add basil to cream mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture registers 150 to 160 degrees, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let mixture cool to 105 to 110 degrees, about 15 minutes. Strain cream mixture through fine-mesh strainer into medium bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Gently whisk in buttermilk.
- Set eight 5-ounce ramekins on rimmed baking sheet. Divide buttermilk mixture evenly among ramekins. Invert second rimmed baking sheet on top of ramekins and carefully transfer to refrigerator. Chill for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days (if chilling for more than 6 hours, cover each ramekin with plastic wrap).
- Place strawberries in bowl. Sprinkle sugar, pepper, and salt over strawberries and toss to combine. Let mixture sit for at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Working with 1 panna cotta at a time, insert knife between panna cotta and side of ramekin. Gently run knife around edge of ramekin to loosen panna cotta. Cover ramekin with serving plate and invert panna cotta onto plate. (You may need to gently jiggle ramekin.) Divide strawberries evenly among panna cotta, garnish with extra basil, and serve.
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