Orange Panna Cotta

Name: Orange Panna Cotta
Yield: Poured at 90 to 100 ml a portion
Ingredients: 1.6 L Fresh cream, 35 percent; 600 ml Full cream milk; 180 g Caster sugar; 2 each Vanilla beans, split and scraped; of 4 oranges, only the orange part Orange zest; a pinch Fine sea salt; 300 ml Freshly squeezed orange juice; 120 ml Fresh mandarin juice, or more orange juice; 40 ml Lemon juice; 20 ml Grand Marnier or Cointreau, optional; 18 g Powdered gelatine, bloomed in 90 ml cold water; 10 each Silver gelatine leaves, the alternative to the powder, soaked in ice-cold water

Cream infused with vanilla and orange zest, set soft and finished with citrus juice.

Orange panna cotta with bright citrus garnish.

The citrus goes in late and cool, at about 40°C, which keeps the juice tasting fresh and stops the dairy splitting.

Poured at 90 to 100 ml a portion

Cook this

The ratio is aimed at a panna cotta that gently wobbles and melts on the tongue, firm enough to unmould if it needs to be, and never rubbery.
Chef Paul Dukai

Ingredients

The cream base

Fresh cream, 35 percent1.6 L
Full cream milk600 ml
Caster sugar180 g
Vanilla beans, split and scraped2 each
Orange zestof 4 oranges, only the orange part
Fine sea salta pinch

The orange component

Freshly squeezed orange juice300 ml
Fresh mandarin juice, or more orange juice120 ml
Lemon juice40 ml
Grand Marnier or Cointreau, optional20 ml

Gelatine, one or the other

Powdered gelatine, bloomed in 90 ml cold water18 g
Silver gelatine leaves, the alternative to the powder, soaked in ice-cold water10 each

Method

If you are using powdered gelatine, mix it with the cold water and leave it for 10 minutes. If you are using leaves, soak them in ice-cold water for 5 to 10 minutes, then lift them out and squeeze out the excess.
Combine the cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, orange zest and salt and heat to about 80°C without boiling. Off the heat, infuse for 20 minutes, then strain.
Reheat gently to around 60°C and whisk in the bloomed gelatine until it has dissolved.
Let the mixture cool to 40°C, then whisk in the orange juice, mandarin juice, lemon juice and the liqueur if you are using it. Adding the citrus at a lower temperature preserves the fresh flavour and prevents the dairy splitting.
Pour 90 to 100 ml into serving glasses or moulds and refrigerate overnight.

Chef’s notes

A note on the yield. The source heading says 20 portions of 90 to 100 ml, which is 1.8 to 2.0 litres. The quantities as written come to roughly 2.7 litres of mixture before the sugar is counted, which would fill closer to 28 to 30 moulds at that portion size. Nothing in the formula has been changed and no portion count is published here: pour at 90 to 100 ml and count what you actually fill, until Chef Paul settles which figure is right.
The gelatine is one or the other, never both. 18 g of powder is roughly 10 to 11 silver leaves at about 1.7 g each, and the source uses 10.
Plated in the source with orange gel, blood orange supremes, an olive oil crumble, candied fennel fronds, preserved orange peel and fresh herbs, finished with Maldon salt, a few drops of excellent olive oil and orange zest grated at the pass. Of those, only the olive oil crumble has a formula, and it is in this Book.

Keeping

DUKAI storage guidance

The overnight set is part of making it. After that, keep it covered at 5°C or below and use within 3 to 4 days, the usual range for a set dairy dessert. It takes on other flavours from a fridge quickly, so keep it wrapped.

Allergens and diet

Milk.

Also in the Recipe Book

Olive Oil Crumble

Last refined · September 2026