Sesame Vanilla Panna Cotta

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with an idea? Well, this recipe was just that! I woke up to “make a Sesame Panna Cotta!”. So here it is, the creamiest most indulgent, perfectly firm, yet velvety-soft panna cotta.

Sesame is probably an unusual flavor for panna cotta, but when I tell you it works, please trust me, it does!

Topped with a crunchy and slightly salted sesame brittle candy, this dessert will blow your mind. Seriously delicious!

The process of making this dessert is relatively simple. A few basic steps will help make it a bit “fancier” but in reality there is nothing complicated about making this dessert. Let me show you!

How I made this Sesame Vanilla Panna Cotta:

Start by dissolving the gelatin in the COLD milk. Whisk well and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, add the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla paste. Whisk well to help the sugar dissolve.

Bring the cream mixture to a simmer and turn it off.

At this point, add the milk and gelatin mixture into the hot heavy cream mixture.

Add the tahini. Whisk in well and pour the whole mixture into a glass bowl.

Tip! Sometimes tahini becomes separated and the oil of the sesame paste floats on top. If this happened to your jar of tahini, try to stir and incorporate the hardened tahini with the oil so it’s smooth and creamy all around.

Line a larger bowl with ice and a bit of water to create an ice bath. Place the smaller glass bowl in the ice bath and whisk the creamy mixture for about 5-7 minutes until it has cooled to room temperature.

Tip! This step can be skipped. The reason for doing this is to help the bits of vanilla paste not sink completely to the bottom of the mold. It will definitely still happen, but by doing this, some of the little specks will be able to be held throughout the panna cotta. As the gelatin starts go get activated, it will hold the vanilla bean specks in position.

Spray the ramequins with non stick spray. Pour the mixture into individual ramequins. Fill them 3/4 of the way. Place them in a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Over night is preferable.

Tip! The mixture yields enough for 5 ramequins. You can fill them all the way up and make only 4. The reason I didn’t do it is because this is a very rich dessert and making it a larger portion might be a bit much.

For the sesame candy:

In a small frying pan, toast the sesame seeds for a few minutes. Watch them carefully as they can burn easily. Once they are toasted, set aside.

Tip! Swirl the pan around to help it from heating too much too quickly. I lift it from the direct heat and then swirl it.

On to making the caramel part

In a small sauce pan, add the sugar and let it melt. Watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn.

The sugar will start melting in about 2 minutes.

It will start bubbling and can burn very, very quickly.

Lift the saucepan from the heat and give it a few swirls to help all the sugar get melted evenly.

Tip! Lifting it up from the direct heat helps the sugar cool slightly and not burn so quickly.

Use a spatula to help the sugar melt evenly. Sometimes it clumps up and with the help of a spatula, it can all get incorporated evenly.

The sugar turns into caramel very quickly. Use your senses to determine how rich you want the caramel to be. The darker it gets, the more bitter it becomes, when this happens, the smell changes as well. Smell the caramel, take a look at it’s color and determine if it’s ready.

I look for a dark amber color but not too dark, and the caramel smells like caramel still. Once the caramel starts changing scent and it starts smelling like it’s burning that’s my queue that the caramel should not get any more heat.

Tip! Watch my video below, it shows how quick the sugar melts and how the caramel looks when I remove it from the heat.

Once the sugar has reached a dark amber color, pour the mixture over a silicone baking mat.

While it is still hot, sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds and sprinkle sea salt on top.

Tip! When adding the sesame seeds and sea salt, make sure the caramel is warm so they can stick to it.

Let the candy cool completely.

Tip! Since the panna cotta has to cool for such a long time, I let the brittle sit out until the panna cotta is ready to unmold.

Once the brittle has cooled completely, brake apart and smash it into large chunks.

Add the large pieces to a ziplock bag and smash the caramel to make the chunks smaller.

Tip! I use a rolling pin to do this.

Tip! Any left over bits of brittle makes for an addicting snack!

To unmold the panna cotta, run a rubber spatula all around the edges of the ramequin. Place a plate on top of the ramequin and flip the plate so that the ramequin is now on top. Jiggle the ramequin and unmold.

Sprinkle some of the sesame brittle on top of the panna cotta. Enjoy!