Burnt Honey & Almond Panna Cottas With Roasted Peaches

We’re flavouring a batch of classic panna cottas with roasted almonds & burnt honey. They’re super creamy, perfectly sweet & served with seasonal, roasted peaches.

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Almonds, honey & peaches all go really well together, so they’re the perfect combination for this dessert! Here, we’ve taken a classic vanilla panna cotta & infused them with plenty of toasted almonds & a generous amount of burnt honey. This gives them a nutty, caramel like flavour, sort of like praline! Burnt honey isn’t overly bitter though, it tastes like a deep caramel & it helps cut through the creaminess from the cream.

Alongside our panna cottas, we’ve got some perfectly roasted peaches that are cooked with honey & brown sugar, plus a few sprigs of fresh thyme. They’re sweet, squidgy & are a great way to use seasonal fruit. If peaches aren’t in season, a different stone fruit like plums or apricots would work instead.

If you’re looking for more dessert recipes to try then take a look at our ever growing collection of dessert recipes! There’s something for everyone here, from classic crumbles, sticky toffee pudding & treacle tart, to tiramisu & whole load of homemade ice creams. There’s different panna cotta flavours to try as well, like classic vanilla, white chocolate & hazelnut and Greek yogurt.

What You’ll Need

• Almonds – I used flaked almonds to infuse my panna cottas but you could roughly chop up some whole almonds instead (before toasting). For extra almond flavour, I also added in a teaspoon of almond extract but this is optional.
• Honey – Any runny honey will work!
• Milk & Cream – We’re using both double cream & whole milk for the panna cottas, for a slightly lighter flavour (but still as creamy!).
• Vanilla – To flavour the panna cottas, you can either use half a vanilla pod or a teaspoon of good quality vanilla paste.
• Peaches – Use seasonal peaches for this recipe! If they’re not in season, feel free to swap them out for a different stone fruit.
• Sugar – You’ll need light brown sugar for the roasted peaches. There’s no extra sugar in the panna cottas as the honey is sweet enough.

How To Make Burnt Honey & Almond Panna Cottas

These panna cottas take a bit longer to make than regular ones because we’re infusing the cream with toasted almonds first. However, most of this extra time is hands off so there’s not really an extra effort needed! To sweeten these panna cottas, we’re using burnt honey instead of regular sugar for a deep, caramelised flavour.

1. Toast Almonds
   The first step is to toast the almonds, which we’ll be using to infuse the cream & milk. To do this, we cook them in a 180°c/356°f oven for 4-6 minutes until they’re a deep golden brown.
2. Infuse Cream
   Next, we add double cream into a saucepan, along with whole milk & half a vanilla pod (with the seeds scraped out) then warm over a low heat until steaming hot. Once warm, we stir in the toasted almonds then cover the pan with a lid & let the cream infuse for an hour, off the heat.
3. Warm Cream
   Once infused, we warm the cream over a low heat until steaming hot once more then we pass it through a sieve, into a jug then stir in a teaspoon of almond extract.
4. Soak Gelatine
   Now we need to soak our gelatine sheets. To do this, we fill a small bowl up with cold water then drop in the gelatine, 1 sheet at a time.
5. Burn Honey
   Next, we’re going to burn some honey, to sweeten & add flavour to our panna cottas. To do this, we add honey into a saucepan then cook over a medium-high heat until it turns a deep, golden brown (like when you make caramel). This will take 3-4 minutes.
6. Finish Panna Cotta Cream
   Once the honey is burnt, we gradually pour in the almond cream whilst stirring (carefully!). Then we take the pan off the heat & stir in a pinch of sea salt & the soaked gelatine (squeeze out the water first!).
7. 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!).
8. Pour Into Moulds & Set
   Once the cream is cool, we pour it into 4, 150ml pudding moulds then let them chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, so that they can set fully.

Taking A Panna Cotta Out Of Its’ Mould

The best way to turn out the panna cottas, we need to briefly dunk each mould in a bowl of hot water, making sure not to fully submerge them (we don’t want a wet panna cotta!). We then loosen the panna cotta’s top edge from the mould with our fingers then turn out onto a plate. If the panna cotta is stuck in the mould, dunk the mould back in the water a second time.

Roasted Peaches

We’re serving our burnt honey & almond panna cottas with some lightly roasted peaches that are cooked in honey, brown sugar & a few sprigs of thyme! The key here is to use perfectly ripe peaches, so that don’t become too soft once roasted. Plus, peaches are a lot easier to prep if they’re not overly ripe.

To make our roasted peaches, we cut fresh peaches into quarters then add into a baking dish with brown sugar, honey, a pinch of sea salt & a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Then we roast them at 180°c/356°f for 15-20 minutes until soft. Once cooked, we let the peaches cool them chill them in the fridge until we’re ready to serve the panna cottas. We’ll be using the roasted peaches & any syrup from the fruit.

Tips & Tricks

• Let the panna cotta cream infuse with the toasted almonds for at least an hour, for the best flavour. Then for even more almond flavour, stir in a teaspoon of almond extract as well.
• Instead of using just cream, use some milk as well, for a lighter panna cotta that’s still as creamy but not as heavy.
• Use a good quality vanilla to flavour the panna cottas. You can use half a vanilla pod or a teaspoon of vanilla paste.
• Cool the panna cotta mix over an ice bath until it’s thick, stirring frequently. This holds the vanilla seeds in suspension, preventing them from sinking as the panna cottas set.
• Make sure to let the panna cottas chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving, to ensure that they’re fully set.

Frequently Asked Questions

Equipment Used

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• Pudding Moulds
• Gelatine Sheets

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