Panna cotta separating?

[Saffy]

I made a vanilla panna cotta the other night and I was really not happy when I turned them out and they had separated into a layer of gelatin milk and cream. I suspect this was because it was too hot when I put them into the fridge ? Can anyone confirm this for me ?

The recipe I was using mentioned nothing about cooling the mixture before I put it in the fridge.

The only other reason I can think of is that I'm in NZ and our cream may have a higher fat content than many other places.

Love to hear ideas on this. I love panna cotta and I don't take well to kitchen failures

[bluechefk]

definitely a result of pouring too hot mixture into containers - i discovered the problem the same way myself when i got impatient & poured my mixture into cups too soon. now i cool it to at least room temperature before i strain the mixture & put into cups. haven't had the problem since

[Saffy]

Thank you! I will give it another go this week and see if I can improve it

[pastrygirl]

When I make coconut panna cotta with coconut milk and cream, it tends to separate, so I stir it over an ice bath until it just starts to thicken (consistency of raw egg white) then pour it into the molds. That seems to work.

[jfield]

You want your panna cotta mixture to be as cool as possible--just short of setting, really, when you mold it. That way, no separation occurs and your lovely vanilla bean seeds stay suspended instead of sinking and looking awful when you turn them out. Try this technique from my site: http://www.pastrychefonline.com/Panna_Cotta.html

I love panna cotta--hope this helps

[Saffy]

Thanks both of you, I will have another go tomorrow night and let you know how it works