Baileys Vanilla Panna Cottas
The creamiest Baileys vanilla panna cottas, served with fresh orange segments & a homemade orange syrup. This is an easy dessert to make at Christmas that’s perfect for Baileys lovers.
Panna cottas are one of my favourite desserts & they’re incredibly easy to make! This batch is designed to be served at Christmas as it’s full of festive flavours but they’re good whatever time of year that you eat them!
So we’re making these panna cottas the regular way, with double cream, milk, sugar, vanilla & gelatine but we’re also adding some Bailey liqueur into the mix as well! After some testing, I found that you only really need a small amount of Baileys to add in a good amount of flavour. If you add too much Baileys in, it’s like you’re drinking a glass of instead of eating a panna cotta! I found that 75g of Baileys for 4 panna cottas was the sweet spot…
Alongside our Baileys vanilla panna cottas, we’re going to be serving some fresh orange segments & a really easy orange syrup. This is a super simple garnish that’s perfect for the festive season. You could even use clementines if you’d prefer! And if you’re not an orange fan, you could go with a cranberry compote, some caramelised bananas or just serve the panna cottas on their own…
For more dessert inspiration, take a look at our ever growing collection of dessert recipes! And for more festive desserts, check out our Christmas recipe collection.
What You’ll Need
- Baileys – An Irish liqueur made with double cream & whiskey. This is available in most supermarkets or you can make these panna cottas without Baileys & use extra double cream instead.
- Milk & Cream – For the creamiest texture & flavour, we’re using whole milk & double cream (heavy cream). You can use just cream but I find that using a mix of milk & cream makes the panna cottas a bit lighter but still as creamy!
- Vanilla – Using a good quality vanilla makes all the difference when making panna cottas. You can either use half a vanilla pod or a teaspoon of good quality vanilla paste.
- Sugar – You’ll need caster sugar for the panna cottas & for the oranges that we’re serving with them.
- Gelatine – Gelatine is what makes panna cottas set! For panna cottas with the perfect wobble, we’re using 3 sheets of gelatine to 600g of liquid. I use Dr Oetker platinum grade gelatine sheets but other brands will work as well!
- Oranges – We’re serving these panna cottas with some orange segments in syrup. We’re making these ourselves & all you’ll need is a few oranges, some caster sugar & water.
How To Make Baileys Vanilla Panna Cottas
We’re making classic vanilla panna cottas & flavouring them with a good splash of Baileys liqueur! There’s some handy tips & tricks included in this recipe for making panna cottas with the perfect amount of wobble & with evenly distributed vanilla seeds. There’s no sunken vanilla seeds round here!
- Soak Gelatine
First, we need to soak the gelatine sheets in a bowl of cold water so that it dissolves properly in the warm cream. If you add the gelatine sheets into the water one at a time, they’ll soak better! - Warm Milk & Cream
Whilst the gelatine is soaking, we place double cream, whole milk, caster sugar & a scraped out vanilla bean into a pan then warm over a low heat until steaming hot. But not boiling! - Stir In Gelatine & Baileys
Once the cream is hot, we take the pan off the heat then stir in the soaked gelatine sheets. Make sure to squeeze as much water out of the gelatine as possible first! Once the gelatine is dissolved, we stir in the Baileys. - Cool Over Ice
Before pouring the cream into moulds, we cool it over ice to hold the vanilla seeds in suspension, which prevents them from sinking. To do this, we fill a large bowl up with ice & cold water them place the bowl of cream in the water. We leave the cream like this for 15-20 minutes, stirring regularly until the mix is thick (but not fully set!). - Pour Into Moulds & Set
Once the cream is cool & thick, we pour it into 150ml pudding moulds then refrigerate until completely set. This will take at least 4 hours.
The Best Way To Take Panna Cottas Out Of The Moulds
The best way to take a panna cotta out of its’ mould is to dunk it into a bowl of hot water then immediately take it out. Next, we use our fingers to gently loosen the panna cotta’s top edge then we turn it out onto a plate. If the panna cotta won’t come out, dunk it back into the hot water for a second time. Just make sure not to dunk the panna cotta all the way into the water, we don’t want to make it wet!
Orange Segments In Syrup
I really wanted to serve these Baileys panna cottas with something festive, as in my opinion they’re best served at Christmas. Baileys is widely considered a Christmas drink after all!
In the end, I opted to serve my panna cottas with some fresh orange segments & a simple orange syrup. The syrup’s super easy to make, you cook caster sugar, water & orange juice and peel in a pan, over a medium heat until it’s sticky & reduced. For the segments, you cut the peel off the oranges (and any pith) then cut down the side of each segment, along the membrane to release. We let the syrup cool slightly then add in the orange segment & chill until needed. You can make this garnish up to 3 days in advance!
Tips & Tricks
- Use a good quality vanilla when making panna cottas. You can either use a vanilla pod or a good quality vanilla paste.
- Add the Baileys into the mix off the heat, to avoid cooking the alcohol off. You’ll get more flavour into your panna cottas this way.
- Soak your gelatine sheets in cold water for at least 5 minutes, so that they dissolve into the cream properly.
- Cool the panna cotta mix over a bowl of ice water, until thick. This holds the vanilla bean seeds in suspension, preventing them from sinking. This is how you get vanilla that is evenly distributed through each panna cotta.
- Let your panna cottas chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving, to ensure that they’re fully set before you turn them out of the moulds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Baileys panna cottas will take at least 4 hours to set in the fridge. I like to chill panna cottas overnight just to ensure that they’re definitely set.
Baileys panna cottas need to be stored in the fridge & are best eaten within 3 days. Once set, cover the top of the panna cottas with clingfilm to keep them fresh.
You can use powdered gelatine to make panna cottas but this recipe was developed using gelatine sheets, so I’d recommend using sheets, as it’s not a direct swap.
Baileys contains cream so it can easily be swapped out for a small amount of the cream. For this reason, I wouldn’t recommend using a different liqueur. To make these panna cottas without Baileys, simply use extra double cream instead.
More Dessert Recipes To Try!
- Dark Chocolate Mousse
- Burnt Honey & Almond Panna Cottas With Roasted Peaches
- Mulled Wine Poached Pears
- Amaretto Tiramisu
- Brown Butter Hobnob Cheesecake
- Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta With Poached Rhubarb
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Baileys Vanilla Panna Cottas
Equipment
- 4 150 ml Pudding Moulds
- Medium Saucepan
- Mixing Bowls
- Sieve
Ingredients
Baileys Panna Cottas
- 325 g Double Cream
- 200 g Whole Milk
- 75 g Baileys
- 60 g Caster Sugar
- ½ A Vanilla Pod (Or 1 tsp Vanilla Paste)
- 3 Gelatine Sheets (See Notes)
Oranges
- 3 Large Oranges
- 100 ml Fresh Orange Juice (From 1 Of The Oranges)
- 50 ml Water
- 150 g Caster Sugar
Instructions
Baileys Panna Cottas
- Fill a small bowl with cold water then add in the gelatine sheets one at a time. Leave to soak whilst you warm the cream up.
- Next, place the cream, milk & sugar into a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod & add both the seeds & pod to the milk & cream.
- Place the pan over a low heat & allow to warm gently, stirring occasionally. Once steaming (don’t let it boil!) remove the pan from the heat.
- Squeeze as much water as you can out of the soaked gelatine then stir into the warm cream. Make sure to stir until the gelatine has fully dissolved.
- Stir the baileys into the cream then pass the mix through a sieve, into a mixing bowl (metal is best!).
- Next, fill a larger, separate bowl up with ice & water then place the bowl containing the cream into the bowl of water. Stir the panna cotta mix regularly until it has cooled down & has started to thicken. This will take around 20 minutes.Allowing the panna cotta mix to cool like this holds the vanilla seeds in suspension, preventing them from sinking.
- In the meantime, lightly grease 4 150ml pudding moulds with a neutral oil.
- Once the cream is ready, pour the mix into the moulds then place into the fridge & leave to set for at least 4 hours.
Oranges
- Cut one of the oranges in half, squeeze out the juice then measure 100 ml & place into a small pan along with the water & sugar. Set this to one side.
- Next, use a sharp knife to trim the skin off the remaining 2 oranges. To do this, trim the top & bottom off then follow the curve of the orange with your knife to trim off the skin, so that just the orange flesh is left (no skin or white pith).Keep hold of the orange skin!
- Place the trimmed orange skins into the pan with the juice then set over a medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until the juice has reduced by about half & is syrupy. This will take 5-10 minutes.
- Whilst the syrup is cooking, segment the peeled oranges. To do this, cut down the side of each segment (along the white membrane) to release from the orange. This can get messy if the oranges are especially juicy, so it's best to wipe the juice up as you work!
- Once the syrup is cooked, pass it into the bowl through a sieve. Let it cool slightly then add in the orange segments. Leave to cool completely then chill in the fridge until needed.
Plating Up
- Fill a medium sized bowl up with hot water then dunk a mould into the hot water & take it straight out.Don’t fully submerge the pudding mould, we don’t want to get the panna cotta wet!
- Gently loosen the panna cotta’s top edge using your fingers then carefully turn out onto a plate/into a bowl. Repeat with the remaining panna cottas.If the panna cotta won’t come out, dunk the mould into the water a second time.
- Spoon orange segments into each bowl along with a good amount of the syrup then serve!
