Since moving in to our new home, my person has certainly learned a lot in the kitchen. It is heartwarming to see him become more and more confident as he learns new cooking techniques and recipes. I especially love his initiative to take over kitchen duties whenever I’m unable to perform mine. His curiosity and enthusiasm further encourage my love for cooking too.

So for this recipe, I’m sharing his actually. He stumbled upon an easy dessert idea for a chocolate panna cotta and decided to give it a try. It was a successful first attempt, and we surely won’t mind making it again. For the recipe below, we decided to tweak the measurements a bit for an even better result next time.

Panna cotta is an Italian dessert literally meaning “cooked cream.” It’s basically sweetened cream thickened with gelatin and cooled in serving glasses or molds. Panna cotta is a well-loved dessert for its smooth texture, dainty appearance, and flexible flavor. This recipe is for a chocolate version, but you can easily find other variants online like coffee, vanilla, strawberry, coconut milk, and more.

Yield: 6–8 servings

Total time: 3 hours and 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 500 ml milk
• 150 grams granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin powder
• 150 grams dark chocolate (chopped)
• cocoa powder (for dusting)
• dark chocolate shavings (for garnishing)

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan, combine milk, sugar, and gelatin powder. Whisk.
2. Add the dark chocolate chunks and mix.
3. Place your saucepan on the stove and set to medium heat.
4. Stir gently and constantly until the chocolate chunks melt completely.
5. Stir for another 3–5 minutes on low heat.
6. Take your saucepan off the heat and pour your mixture into your chosen molds or serving glasses.
7. Chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
8. Before serving, dust your chocolate panna cota with cocoa powder and garnish with dark chocolate shavings.
9. Serve and enjoy!

You can also dress up your chocolate panna cotta your way using other ingredients. You can drizzle it with chocolate syrup and top it with whipped cream and berries. You can use powdered sugar instead of cocoa powder. I say just have fun with it!

Special thanks to my favorite person for this recipe and delicious dessert. I look forward to more kitchen adventures with you!