Indulge in a delightful fusion of flavors with this decadent mango panna cotta recipe. This mango panna cotta combines the silky smoothness of traditional panna cotta with the tropical sweetness of ripe mangoes. Effortlessly luxurious, with a texture that melts in your mouth! It's a breeze to prepare, about 10-15 minutes (plus resting time). What's more? It's gelatin-free and bursting with the flavor of mango in every spoonful!
You can make this mango panna cotta with fresh mangoes or use canned mango puree. It is a perfect, make ahead dessert for summer season!
Each year, as the mango season arrives, I eagerly wait to head to our local Indian store to procure a box of this delightful fruit. This time around, we bought home a carton of fragrant kesar mangoes. While we thoroughly enjoy indulging in them as a post-dinner treat, I reserved a few to make this simple yet exquisite mango panna cotta.
We are obessed with mango desserts and my little one is a huge fan of panna cotta. So, I decided to merge the two and create this mango panna cotta. To say it was a hit would be an understatement. With its fruity essence, vibrant hue, and velvety texture, it turned out truly irresistible!
Mango Desserts to try - Mango Cheesecake, Mango Tres Leches Cake, Mango Custard, Mango Phirni, Mango Rasmalai Cake, Mango Burfi
What is Mango Panna Cotta
Mango panna cotta is a mango variation of famous italian dessert, pannacotta. Plain panna cotta is one of the easiest desserts which refers to "cooked cream". It is simply made by simmering together heavy cream, milk, sugar and gelatine until thickened and then it is set. Once set, the panna cotta is silky smooth, jiggly and has a delicate texture.
To make mango pannacotta, I simply add mango puree to the heavy cream mixture and then set it. You could use canned mango puree, but since they are in season, I puree fresh, ripe, juicy mangoes with a tad bit of sugar and the strain the mango puree to make sure that it is not stringy. One of the essential aspects of mango panna cotta is this smooth creaminess.
Mango panna cotta has a delighful contrast of creamy and fruity, its texture is soft & delicate - almost cloud time. To enhance its sunny look, I serve this silky smooth treat with a drizzle of mango puree and few mango pieces. You are going to love every spoonful of this tropical inspired dessert, I promise.
Why This Recipe
- Few Ingredients - You need just 5 ingredients for this recipe!
- It is super easy and quick to make with about 10-15 minutes of active cooking time.
- Low effort- Instead of creating distinct mango and cream layers, I prepare a mango-flavored panna cotta mixture. I simply pour it into molds and allow it to set, eliminating the need to monitor the layers as they set. After placing the moulds in the fridge, I can forget about them for a few hours, saving a significant amount of time.
- Vegetarian Friendly - I use agar agar powder in my panna cotta recipe making it suitable for vegetarians.
- Real Mango taste -The mango flavor shines through in every bite. It's rich taste and aroma are unmistakable. Be sure to choose high-quality fresh mangoes or store-bought puree. This mango pannacotta is a delight for mango lovers and makes for a perfect dessert for kids and is a fantastic addition to summer party menus.
- Make Ahead Dessert - If you are a fan of make ahead desserts like me, you will love it!
Ingredients
- Heavy Cream - The hero ingredient! You cannot make panna cotta without it. Use heavy cream or double cream(in UK).
- Milk - I had 2% milk in my fridge and thats what I used. If you have whole milk or half & half on hand, use those.
- Mango Puree - I made a mango puree using fresh mangoes(see below how-to). If you have an indian grocer near you, you can get a can of mango puree. I usually go for alphonso mango puree or kesar mango pulp, both of which you can find on amazon as well. I haven't tested this recipe with frozen mangoes so cannot say about the results.
- Agar Agar Powder - Myrecipe uses agar agar powder. I haven't used or tested the recipe with agar agar sheets. Agar Agar powder is easy to use and does not need soaking.
- Vanilla - I love the mouthfeel of vanilla in traditional pana cotta and I stuck to using it in my mango panna cotta recipe. You could use ground green cardamom or saffron if you wish.
- Granulated Sugar, salt(just need a pinch)
How To Make Mango Puree From Fresh Mangoes
- Wash the fresh mangoes thoroughly. We are going to discard the mango skin but peeling unwashed mangoes can transfer dirt to the flesh.
- Slice off each end of the mango on the sides of the seed. Make a cris-cross pattern on the mango flesh on each slice and using a spoon, scoop the flesh into a blender.
- Taste the mango and add sugar accordingly. As a thumb rule I add 1 tablespoon of sugar per 8oz ripe mango.
- Blend to smooth and then strain the mango puree using a soup strainer to make sure its not stringy. Your homemade mango puree is ready to use.
How To Make Mango Panna Cotta
- Rinse a small saucepan(2qt -3qt) with cold water and without wiping, add milk, heavy cream, agar agar powder and sugar in it. Give it a quick stir.
2. Place on stove on low flame. Stir gently until it reaches a gentle simmer. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.Don't let boil.
3. Remove the sauce pan from heat, let warm milk mixture cool slightly and then stir in the salt, vanilla extract and mango puree. Stir to mix again until the mixture is sunny yellow. Don't cook the mixture after mixing mango.
4. Place panna cotta moulds, small serving bowls or 6, 4 oz ramekins on a large tray. Divide panna cotta mixture evenly into the moulds. Let stand on the counter until cooled down to room temperature.
- Cover the moulds with plastic wrap. Chill the panna cotta in the refrigerator for for 6-8 hours, or until fully set.
- Once set, you can serve the panna cotta directly in the mould or unmold them onto serving plates. To unmold, dip the bottom of the mold for a few seconds in hot water to help release.
- If desired, top the panna cotta with mango sauce and fresh mango chunks or as serve as desired. Serve chilled!
Recipe Tips
- Taste the mangoes or the canned mango puree and adjust the quantity of granulated sugar accordingly in this recipe.
- Allow the milk and cream mixture to cool slightly before you add the mango puree. This prevents the heat from affecting the flavor of the mangoes.
- Agar agar powder dissolves pretty easily. However, if you are concerned about small lumps, strain the panna cotta mixture before pouring it into moulds.
- Cook the panna cotta mixture on low or medium- low heat. I don't cook milk desserts on high heat since milk can easily scald at the botton of sauce pot.
- Lastly, during recipe testing, I also figured that you could slightly vary the quantity of agar agar powder depending on how firm or jiggly you like your pannacotta. In my recipe I use 1.5 teaspoon agar agar powder, however use 1.25 teaspoon for a softer pannacotta.
5 Ingredient Mango Panna Cotta (No Gelatin)
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk I use 2 %
- 1.5 cup heavy cream
- 5 tablespoon sugar adjust to taste/depending on how sweet mango puree is
- 1.5 teaspoon agar agar powder reduce to 1.25 teaspoon for a softer texture of panna cotta
- 1 cup (190g) mango puree
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Rinse a small saucepan(2qt -3qt) with cold water and without wiping, add milk, heavy cream, agar agar powder and sugar in it. Give it a quick stir.
- Place the saucepan on stove on low medium flame. Stir gently until it reaches a gentle simmer. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.Don't let boil.
- Remove the sauce pan from heat, let warm milk mixture cool slightly and then stir in the salt, vanilla extract and mango puree. Stir to mix again until the mixture is sunny yellow. Don't cook the mixture after mixing mango.
- Place panna cotta moulds, small serving bowls or 6, 4 oz ramekins on a large tray. Divide panna cotta mixture evenly into the moulds. Let stand on the counter until cooled down to room temperature.
- Cover the moulds with plastic wrap. Chill the panna cotta in the refrigerator for for 6-8 hours, or until fully set.
- Once set, you can serve the panna cotta directly in the mould or unmold them onto serving plates. To unmold, dip the bottom of the mold for a few seconds in hot water to help release.
- If desired, top the panna cotta with mango sauce and fresh mango chunks or as serve as desired. Serve chilled!
Notes
- Taste the mangoes or the canned mango puree and adjust the quantity of granulated sugar accordingly in this recipe.
- Allow the milk and cream mixture to cool slightly before you add the mango puree. This prevents the heat from affecting the flavor of the mangoes.
- Agar agar powder dissolves pretty easily. However, if you are concerned about small lumps, strain the panna cotta mixture before pouring it into moulds.
- Cook the panna cotta mixture on low or medium- low heat. I avoid cooking milk desserts on high heat since milk can easily scald at the botton of sauce pot.
- Lastly, during recipe testing, I also figured that you could slightly vary the quantity of agar agar powder depending on how firm or jiggly you like your pannacotta. In my recipe I use 1.5 teaspoon agar agar powder, however use 1.25 teaspoon for a softer pannacotta
- Wash the fresh mangoes thoroughly. We are going to discard the mango skin but peeling unwashed mangoes can transfer dirt to the flesh.
- Slice off each end of the mango on the sides of the seed. Make a cris-cross pattern on the mango flesh on each slice and using a spoon, scoop the flesh into a blender.
- Taste the mango and add sugar accordingly. As a thumb rule I add 1 tablespoon of sugar per 8oz ripe mango.
- Blend to smooth and then strain the mango puree using a soup strainer to make sure its not stringy. Your homemade mango puree is ready to use.
Swetha says
if want to make vanilla pannacotta can i skip the mango (when no mangoes are available) and complete the remaining process
Tanvi Srivastava says
Sorry that wont work since the quantity of agar agar powder required to set the pannacotta will be different in that case.