Vanilla Panna Cotta with Mixed Berries Compote

Definitely Amanda's favourite dessert Panna Cotta actually means cooked cream in Italian. It is very easy to do and the secret is not to boil the cream whilst cooking it. You can serve panna cotta with a mixed berries compôte or even with honey or a nice caramel sauce. Panna cotta is not only famous in Italy but is also very popular everywhere all over the globe. Before gelatin became widely available commercially old Italian recipes used to use boiled fish bones instead of the gelatin for panna cotta but nowadays the gelatin that we buy are pork or beef gelatin. We used icing sugar as it dissolves quicker but you can use regular or caster sugar. We also used a vanilla pod but you can also use a tsp of vanilla essence if you do not have it. As berries are in season at the minute we bought some nice delicious fresh strawberries, blueberries and raspberries hence the mixed berries compôte. :) So here is what you will need...

For the panna cotta

• 500ml single cream/panna/fresh cream
• 150g icing sugar 
• 1 vanilla pod, cut in half lengthwise and seeds scraped
• 3 gelatin leaves

For the compôte

• 200g mixed berries (we used strawberries, blueberries & raspberries)
• 75g caster sugar

Method

1. Put the gelatin leaves in a bowl with cold water and leave to soak for about 5 minutes.
2. Put the cream, sugar and vanilla pod & seeds in a pan and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Keep heating until steam comes out, but do not boil. Take the gelatin leaves and squeeze the water out of them. Add them to the pan until dissolved.
3. Turn off the heat and strain the mixture through a fine sieve.
4. Pour the cream into 4 moulds or small glasses. Set aside so they cool down at room temperature. When cool put them in the fridge for at least 5 hours.
5. To prepare the compôte, put the berries and sugar in a pan and heat until the sugar dissolves and berries break down. Set aside and leave to cool.
6. To serve the panna cotta, carefully run a sharp knife around the mould/glass and tip upside down on a saucer and spoon some compôte on the panna cotta.  

Enjoy!!

R&A