This easy Orange Maple Panna Cotta is topped with bright citrus pieces and a crunchy maple crumble. An elegant combination of flavors and textures!

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Maple season is here! Every year, I look forward to seeing maple producers set up shop at local markets. Their arrival is reason to celebrate: it means winter’s over halfway through! My favorite shopping spot for maple products is Quebec City’s Marché du Vieux-Port (Old Port Market). For nearly two months, from mid-March until early May, a dozen producers from the region’s best maple farms gather to sell treats that would make any sweets-lover weak in the knees: chocolates filled with maple cream, maple fudge, maple taffy, maple sugar cones, and on, and on.

But the real reason I make a point of visiting my favorite producers is so I can stock up on basic maple products. I use a ton of maple syrup and granulated maple sugar in my baking every year, and getting it straight from the producers ensures I get pure maple products. Maple-“flavored” products are my pet peeve—there’s just nothing like the real thing.

Even though I use maple products year-round, every year, I strive to make the most of the season while it lasts. I’ll remake family classics—such as fudge, madeleines, cookies, meringues, muffins, cupcakes, or this heavenly fluffy Maple Walnut Cream Tart—and introduce new recipes to the line-up, too.

One of the best things about maple season is that it slightly overlaps citrus season, and citrus fruits and maple go so well together. It’s an opportunity I just can’t let slip past! Lately, I’ve been unusually busy, but I didn’t want to miss out on this blissful time of year. I decided to make a maple-flavored version of panna cotta, which is one of my go-to treats. I’ve previously written about why I love panna cotta so much—it’s so fast to make and so, so good!—but using maple syrup to sweeten the dessert brings it to simply supernaturally delicious levels.

I wanted to serve this panna cotta with something fresh and something crunchy, so I diced bright coral Cara Cara oranges and made a simple shortbread-like maple crumble to top things off. This orange maple panna cotta might be the tastiest one I’ve ever made. If you’ve never made or even—gasp!—tasted panna cotta before, let this recipe be your introduction to the world of easy but extremely satisfying desserts.

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Orange Maple Panna Cotta with Pecan-Maple Crumble

This easy Orange Maple Panna Cotta is topped with bright citrus pieces and a crunchy maple crumble. An elegant combination of flavors and textures!

Prep Time:20 minutes mins

Cook Time:15 minutes mins

Cooling Time:4 hours hrs

Servings 8 servings

Author Marie Asselin (FoodNouveau.com)

Ingredients

For the Maple Panna Cotta

• 1 tbsp 15 ml unflavored powdered gelatin (1 envelope)
• 1 cup 250 ml whole milk (3.25% m.f.)
• 1 1/2 cups 375 ml heavy cream (35% m.f.)
• 1/3 cup 80 ml pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp 5 ml pure vanilla extract

For the Pecan-Maple Crumble

• 1/4 cup 60 ml all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup 60 ml pure maple sugar
• 1/4 cup 60 ml pecan nuts, shelled, chopped finely
• 2 tbsp 30 ml cold butter

For the Cara Cara orange layer

• 4 Cara Cara oranges peeled and diced, pits discarded (for a total of about 2 cups / 500 ml diced orange)
• 1 tbsp 15 ml pure maple syrup

Instructions

• For the Maple Panna Cotta: Pour 1/2 cup (125 ml) of the milk into a large bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the milk and let rest about 5 minutes (don’t mix—this step allows the gelatin to bloom).
• Pour the rest of the milk (1/2 cup / 125 ml) and the heavy cream in a saucepan. Whisk in the maple syrup and vanilla extract. Heat over medium heat until you reach a light simmer.
• Pour the very hot milk mixture over the gelatin and whisk until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Divide the maple panna cotta mixture between 8 small glasses, bowls, or ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours to set.
• For the Pecan-Maple Crumble: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix the flour, maple sugar, and chopped pecans together. Add the cold butter and incorporate it to the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your hands, until the mixture forms pea-sized crumbs. Spread the mixture on the cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes until the crumbs are golden (mixing the crumbs two to three times during baking allows them to brown more evenly). Let cool completely. Store the crumble in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use. (The crumble will keep for up to three days.)
• Prepare the Cara Cara orange layer: In a small bowl, combine the diced Cara Cara oranges and maple syrup. Spoon some of the oranges over each panna cotta.
• SERVING: Right before serving, top each Maple Panna Cotta with a generous sprinkle of crumble.
• MAKE-AHEAD TIP: The Maple Panna Cotta can be prepared up to two days ahead. Garnish with Cara Cara oranges and pecan-maple crumble right before serving.

Did you make this?

Tell me how you liked it! Leave a comment or take a picture and tag it with @foodnouveau on Instagram.

Disclosure Notice: This post was created in partnership with Quebec City’s Marché du Vieux-Port to celebrate maple season and highlight the talented and hard-working maple producers that sell their products at the market every year. I was offered product compensation to develop a delicious recipe using maple products. As always, companies never dictate what recipes I create, or the opinions I express. I only use products I genuinely believe in.

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