This lemon yogurt panna cotta has had a complete makeover.

My first attempt ended in a runny lemon layer with a sickly sweet, rich lemon curd. 

Now, I’ve figured out the world of gelatine, and made the lemon curd not only less sweet and rich, but much easier as well.

I now present you the firm lemon yogurt panna cotta with a yummy lemon curd topping!

The bottom yogurt part is not sweet at all, so that goes amazingly with the sweeter curd.

Instead of a traditional cream panna cotta, I’ve used yogurt, which creates a lovely tanginess while still giving a delicious (not as rich) dessert. 

The lemon in the panna cotta and curd also gives this dessert a distinct freshness, making it the perfect finish to a rich meal!

This lemon panna cotta looks really pretty in glasses, so that you can show off the gorgeous layers. Alternatively, you can make it in a dish.

Making this Dessert

This lemon panna cotta is really quite simple.

Most of the time spent is just chilling it in the fridge, and that doesn’t require any hard work from you…other than paying the electricity bills!

You start off with the panna cotta which I guarantee will take you no longer than 10 minutes! Pop that into the fridge till set, whip up some lemon curd…then pop it back into the fridge until you’re ready to devour it!

Making the Lemon Yogurt Panna Cotta 

Start off by whisking together the yogurt, milk, and vanilla essence.

Then, heat the brown sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and gelatine in your teeny-tiniest pot until the gelatine and sugar dissolve. Try your very best not to let the mixture boil!

Pour the gelatine mixture into the yogurt mixture slowly whilst whisking.

Lastly, pour/scoop this lemon yogurt mixture into 4-6 glasses, or into a medium-sized bowl/dish. Cover those lovelies with cling film and place in the fridge for a few hours, until firm.

Making the Easy-Peasy Lemon Curd

This lighter and sweeter than usual lemon curd is great because you use two whole eggs instead of egg yolk. 

That means no waste (or half-eggs sitting around in the fridge)…and it just makes it simpler, and a bit lighter.

You won’t get the normal bright yellow, but it will still look- and taste -gorgeous!

Start off by heating up the lemon juice, lemon zest, brown sugar, salt, and eggs in a water bath.

A water bath (also known as a bain-marie or double broiler) is really not as complicated as it  may sound. In my case it was literally just throwing all the ingredients into a glass dish and resting that on top of a small pot of boiling water.

Anyways- back to the ‘how-to’!

Whisk the lemon curd continuously. At first it’ll be a bit hard to get everything mixed together well, but keep whisking!

Once the mixture thickens and doesn’t taste eggy, it is ready to come off the heat. It should be thick enough that you can make a line with your finger and it stays there. Whisk in the butter, then allow the curd to cool to room temperature before adding it to the panna cotta.

Finally- the moment you’ve been waiting for! 

Dividing the lemon curd amongst the glasses/dish. You can either dollop it on like I did, or spread it out in a thin, even layer. I’ve never tried this, but you could potentially even use an icing bag to make it look super pretty. 

Place your gorgeous desserts back into the fridge until ready to serve.

That’s it…hope you don’t feel cheated out of the normally long (but fun!) activity of dessert-making!

Serving & Storing the Lemon Panna Cotta

We enjoyed them just as their humble selves, but I do have a few ideas for sprucing them up a bit.

• You could try making multiple layers instead of just two
• You could dust them with cocoa powder or grated chocolate
• You could finish them off with whipped cream and berries for extra decadence

Go crazy…and enjoy!

Oh- almost forgot! I have another piece of good news. These lemon yogurt panna cottas keep really well in the fridge for a couple of days, so they’re a brilliant dessert to make ahead.

Print Recipe

Lemon Yogurt Panna Cotta with Lemon Curd Topping

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Dessert

Serves: 4-6 (4 is very generous)

Prep Time: 5 minutes (plus chilling time) – Cooking Time: 20 minutes (stovetop) – Total Time: 25 minutes (plus chilling time)

A fresh, light dessert - perfect for the summertime! This beautiful dessert looks quite impressive, but it's super easy to make.

Ingredients

• Lemon Yoghurt Panna Cotta
• 2T brown sugar
• 1 lemon, juice and zest (approx. ¼ cup juice)
• 10g sachet gelatine (just over 1T)
• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 1 cup milk
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• Lemon Curd
• 1 lemon, juice and zest (approx. ¼ cup juice)
• ¼ cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 2 whole eggs
• 1T butter

Instructions

Lemon Yoghurt Panna Cotta

1

Whisk together the yogurt, milk, and vanilla essence.

2

Heat the brown sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and gelatine in a small pot until the gelatine and sugar dissolve.

3

Remove from heat and pour into the yogurt mixture, whisking continuously.

4

Pour/scoop this lemon yogurt mixture into 4-6 glasses, or into a medium-sized bowl/dish. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for a few hours, until firm.

Lemon curd

5

Heat up the lemon juice, lemon zest, brown sugar, salt, and eggs in a water bath (*also known as a bain-marie or double broiler - I simply placed a glass dish into a small pot of boiling water).

6

Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter. Allow to cool to room temperature.

7

Divide amongst the glasses/dish. You can either dollop it on like I did, or spread it out in a thin, even layer. Place back into the fridge until ready to serve.

Notes

Switch this dessert up a bit by creating multiple layers, topping with cocoa powder/grated choc...or even with whipped cream and berries, for some extra decadence. These yogurt panna cottas keep very well in the fridge for a few days, so feel free to make them ahead.

Visit my dessert category for more gorgeous desserts.