Vanilla Pannacotta, tuile, marshmallow, strawberry anise syrup and a Gelee (Most delicious dessert ever)

Vanilla Pannacotta with Rosé Gelée, Strawberry Anise Syrup, Lavender Tuile & Lemon Sherbet Marshmallow

Indulgence.

It really is the only way to describe this dessert.

Layered textures. Soft, silky cream. Bright fruit. Floral whispers. Crisp shards of caramelised biscuit. Clouds of toasted marshmallow.

Delicious, sweet, textural bliss.

If you’re looking for a dessert that can be completely prepared ahead of time yet still impress absolutely everyone at the table, this is that recipe.

There are five elements to the dish: a vanilla pannacotta, rosé gelée, strawberry anise syrup, lavender tuile and a lemon sherbet marshmallow meringue. It might sound elaborate, but each component is quite simple, and you can choose to make as many or as few as you like.

That’s the beauty of this dessert — it’s wonderfully flexible.

I wanted to show a few ways to plate it. The easiest presentation was in stemless wine glasses. The more fiddly and precise version was plated on a dish. The plate feels refined, almost restaurant-like. Precise. Calculated.

But truthfully, I prefer the wine glasses.

They feel warmer. More relaxed. More inviting. And you get a much more generous layer of that beautiful rosé gelée.

To finish, I scatter baby mint leaves and mint blossoms (thanks to my overachieving mint plant). If you’ve never used mint blossoms before, they are worth seeking out — tiny snow-white flowers with the most delicate floral mint flavour.

Little details that elevate the whole experience.

Why You’ll Love This Dessert

• A stunning make-ahead dessert for entertaining

• Beautiful balance of creamy, crisp, fruity and airy textures

• Elegant but surprisingly achievable

• Flexible plating options for casual or refined presentation

• Perfect for dinner parties and celebrations

• Floral, fruity and citrus flavours layered together beautifully

It’s a dessert that feels special without needing last-minute stress.

The heart of the dish is the vanilla pannacotta — silky, delicate and lightly perfumed with real vanilla.

Alongside it sits the rosé gelée, a jewel-like layer made with strawberry anise syrup that adds brightness and subtle spice.

The lavender tuile brings crispness and fragrance, while the lemon sherbet marshmallow adds a cloud of sweetness that is lightly toasted just before serving.

The components play together beautifully: soft, sharp, sweet and aromatic.

And the best part? Nearly everything can be prepared well in advance, leaving only a few final touches before serving.

Which means you can spend the evening enjoying your guests rather than standing in the kitchen.

Recipe: Vanilla Pannacotta Dessert with Strawberry Anise Syrup & Lavender Tuile

Course: Dessert
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Vanilla Pannacotta

• 470 ml milk

• 115 g caster sugar

• 1 vanilla pod, split and scraped

• 250 g cream

• 5 gelatin sheets (or 15 g gelatin)

Strawberry Anise Syrup

• 1 punnet (250 g) strawberries

• 170 g caster sugar

• 2 star anise

Rosé Gelée

• 100 ml rosé wine

• 100 ml strawberry anise syrup

• 1 sachet gelatin

Lavender Tuile

• 1 egg white

• 50 g melted butter

• 50 g caster sugar

• 50 g gluten-free plain flour

• Dried lavender flowers

Lemon Sherbet Marshmallow Meringue

• 1 egg white

• ¼ cup caster sugar

• 2 tsp lemon juice

• ¼ cup gluten-free icing sugar

Method

Vanilla Pannacotta

1. Place milk, sugar and vanilla pod in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Warm until the sugar dissolves and the milk is steaming but not boiling.

2. Remove from heat and allow to infuse for 20 minutes.

3. Soften gelatin leaves in cold water.

4. Reheat milk mixture gently. Remove vanilla pod.

5. Squeeze water from gelatin and whisk into the hot milk until dissolved.

6. Stir in cream.

7. Strain through a fine sieve.

8. Pour into glasses or moulds.

9. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

Strawberry Anise Syrup

1. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil.

2. Hull and roughly slice strawberries and place in a heatproof bowl.

3. Add sugar and star anise.

4. Place bowl over the saucepan (without touching the water).

5. Heat for 30 minutes until syrupy.

6. Strain gently without pressing fruit.

7. Allow to cool. Reserve 100 ml for the gelée.

Rosé Gelée

1. Bring rosé wine to a boil in a saucepan.

2. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin until dissolved.

3. Add reserved strawberry syrup and mix.

4. Cool slightly before pouring over pannacotta or into moulds.

5. Refrigerate until set.

Lavender Tuile

1. Preheat oven to 160°C.

2. Mix egg white, sugar, flour and melted butter until smooth.

3. Chill mixture for 20 minutes.

4. Spread thin strips of batter onto lined trays.

5. Sprinkle with dried lavender.

6. Bake 10–15 minutes until golden.

7. Shape quickly around a rolling pin while warm.

Lemon Sherbet Marshmallow

1. Whisk egg white to firm peaks.

2. Add lemon juice and one third of the sugar. Whisk 2 minutes.

3. Add remaining sugar in stages, whisking until stiff.

4. Add icing sugar and whisk until firm.

5. Transfer to piping bag.

Assembly

1. Spoon or pour strawberry syrup over pannacotta.

2. Pipe marshmallow on top or beside the dessert.

3. Lightly torch the meringue.

4. Garnish with fresh strawberries, mint leaves and mint blossoms.

5. Add lavender tuile for crunch.

Tips & Variations

• Skip the gelée for a simpler pannacotta dessert

• Replace rosé with sparkling wine or elderflower cordial

• Add citrus zest to the pannacotta for brightness

• Crumble the tuile instead of shaping it

• Swap strawberries for raspberries or cherries

• Serve layered in jars for casual entertaining

Serving & Storage

Serving

Best served chilled with the marshmallow torched just before serving.

Storage

• Pannacotta: keeps 2–3 days refrigerated

• Strawberry syrup: up to 1 week refrigerated

• Tuile biscuits: airtight container for several days

• Marshmallow: best made shortly before serving

FAQ

Q. Can I make this dessert ahead of time?

Yes. The pannacotta, gelée and syrup can all be made the day before.

Q. Do I need the rosé gelée?

No. It’s optional but adds a beautiful layer of flavour.

Q. What if I don’t have a blow torch?

You can leave the marshmallow un-toasted or quickly brown it under a grill.

Q. Is the tuile essential?

It adds texture but the dessert is still delicious without it.

This dessert is a little theatrical.

Silky cream, jewel-like gelée, crisp lavender biscuits and clouds of toasted marshmallow — every bite different from the last.

But beneath the elegance it remains comforting and joyful. Something about serving dessert in a glass, scattered with berries and herbs, feels welcoming rather than formal.

It’s the sort of dessert that turns a dinner into an occasion.

And that, I think, is the real indulgence.

Pannacotta, tuile, marshmallow, strawberry anise syrup and a Gelee

vanilla pannacotta with rosé gelée, strawberry anise syrup, lavender tuile

Servings 4

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Chill Time 4 hours hrs

Ingredients

Vanilla Pannacotta

• 470 ml milk
• 115 g caster sugar
• 1 vanilla pod
• 250 g cream
• 5 sheets or 15g geletine
• Strawberry Anise Syrup
• 1 250 g punnet strawberries
• 170 g caster sugar
• 2 star anise

Rosé Gelee

• 100 ml Rosé wine
• 100 ml Strawberry anise syrup
• 1 sachet geletine

Lavender Tuile

• 1 egg white
• 50 g Melted Butter
• 50 g Caster sugar
• 50 g Gluten free plain flour

Lemon Sherbert Marshmellow Meringue

• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup icing mixture gluten free

Instructions

Vanilla Pannacotta:

• Place milk, sugar and split and scraped vanilla bean into a saucepan over medium low heat, heating until sugar has dissolved and milk is steaming and just below boiling. Leave to infuse for 20 minutes.
• Place the gelatin leaves in a bowl of cold water to soften.
• Remove the vanilla pods from the infused milk, and reheat to steaming and below boiling. Squeeze out excess water from the gelatin leaves and add to the hot milk, whisking until fully dissolved.
• Stir in the cream until fully incorporated.
• Strain through a fine sieve. Pour into your molds / wine glasses / cups.
• Leave to set in the refridgerator for at least 4 hours or until set, but preferably over night.

Strawberry Syrup

• Put a saucepan of water on the stove and heat to a rolling boil.
• Wash and hull 1 punnet of strawberries, then roughly slice and place in a heat proof bowl.
• Add sugar and star anise to the bowl with the sugar.
• Place the bowl over the pan of water (making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water) and heat for 30 mins until sugar has dissolved and become syrupy.
• Strain through a sieve. (don’t press the fruit!! it will produce a cloudy syrup) Allow to cool. Reserve 100ml of syrup for rose gelee.

Rosé gelee:

• Put rosé in sauce pan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and add gelatin stirring until dissolved.
• Add the 100ml reserved strawberry anise syrup and stir. Allow to cool but not set (just below room temp).
• Either pour into mold or on top of the pannacotta. Allow to set at least 4 hours, ideally over night.

Lavender Tuile:

• Preheat oven to 160C. Line 2 trays with silicone paper.
• Melt butter in microwave in 30 second increments until melted. Allow to cool slightly.
• Combine flour, sugar, egg white and melted butter and mix until thoroughly combined.
• Chill for 20 minutes.
• Using a spatula spread the batter in long strokes to get even(ish) lines about 2cm wide and 30cm long. (I did 2 to a tray)
• Sprinkle with the dried lavender flowers.
• Bake for 10 – 15 minutes. Keep checking them after 10 minutes. They are ready when golden brown.
• Working quickly, with a spatula, peel the biscuit off and shape around a rolling pin. Allow to cool and set.
• Keep in an air tight container will last a few days.

Lemon sherbet marshmallow:

• In a stand mixer, whisk egg white until firm peaks.
• Add lemon juice and 1/3 sugar and whisk for 2 mins.
• Add 1/3 sugar and whisk for 2 minutes.
• Add remaining sugar and whisk until stiff peaks.
• Add the icing mixture and whisk until stiff.
• Place mixture into a piping bag ready for assembly.
• Pipe the meringue on to plate or in glass and quickly blow torch to scorch.
• To serve:
• Add some washed and sliced fresh strawberries and scatter baby mint leaves and blossoms.

Notes

• The sherbert is quite stable and will most probably withstand the night in a piping bag in the fridge (mine did thanks to the lemon and the cornflour in the icing mixture), however I would recommend that you make it just before guess arrived.
• You will need a little blow torch to toast the meringue, head down to your local hardware or home ware store.
• A piping bag with a small round tip, you could just use a sandwich bag and trim the corner off or make one from baking paper, but for the record I if you do a lot of baking a really good quality piping bag should be in your kit. I love mine, it’s been with me through many baking days and disasters.
• Star anise is a liquorice flavoured spice. You can get it form most major supermarkets, Indian spice grocers or online.
• Dried Lavender can be purchased online or at exotic tea suppliers.
• I encourage you to be creative with your presentation. Use random jars or pretty tea cups. Try floating the gelee on top of the syrup. Try crumbling the tuile and having crumbs. If you try it…. How about posting a photo with #thekrookedspoon
• I am all about using every little thing you can from your food, so your going to have two egg yolks left over, don’t throw them away or give them to the dogs, I have the perfect recipe for them ice cream anyone…….

 

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Course: Dessert, sweet treats

Keyword: pannacotta

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