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Vanilla panna cotta with summer berries

A smooth, softly set Italian cream pudding scented with vanilla, turned out with a gentle wobble and topped with glossy berries in their own light syrup.

AI-generated photograph: A trembling ivory panna cotta turned out on a wide shallow white plate, flecked with vanilla seeds, crowned with glossy raspberries, halved strawberries and blueberries in a ruby syrup pooling around its base
  • 20 minutes
  • Prep 15 minutes
  • Cook 5 minutes
  • Serves 4

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

  • Gluten free

Ingredients

  • 3 sheets platinum grade leaf gelatine
  • 300ml double cream
  • 200ml whole milk
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or the seeds of 1 vanilla pod
  • 250g mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)
  • 1 tablespoon caster sugar, for the berries
  • A squeeze of lemon juice

Let's cook

  1. Soak the gelatine sheets in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes, until soft and floppy. Gelatine is what makes the cream set.
  2. Put the cream, milk and 50g sugar in a pan. Warm on a medium low heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is steaming hot but not boiling. Boiling can stop the gelatine setting.
  3. Take the pan off the heat. Lift the gelatine out of the water, squeeze it gently and stir it into the hot cream until it melts completely. Stir in the vanilla.
  4. Pour through a sieve into a jug, then divide between 4 small pudding moulds, ramekins or glasses (about 150ml each). Let them cool, then cover and chill for at least 4 hours, until set with a soft wobble.
  5. For the berries, cut any strawberries into halves or quarters. Toss all the berries with 1 tablespoon sugar and the lemon juice and leave for 15 minutes, until a light syrup forms.
  6. To turn out, dip each mould in hot water for 5 to 10 seconds, run a thin knife around the top edge, put a plate on top and turn it over. Give it a gentle shake and lift the mould off. Spoon the berries and their syrup around. If using glasses, simply spoon the berries on top.

Tips

  • A good panna cotta should barely hold its shape and tremble on the plate, not bounce.
  • Lightly oil the moulds with a flavourless oil before filling if you plan to turn them out.
  • They keep, covered, in the fridge for 2 days. Add the berries just before serving.

Swaps

  • Vegetarian: use a vegetarian setting agent such as Vege-Gel instead of gelatine, following the packet, because gelatine comes from animals.
  • Lighter: use half double cream and half whole milk.
  • Winter: serve with sliced oranges or poached plums instead of summer berries.

Tags

Contains: Milk .

Of the 14 allergens, only milk is in this recipe, from the cream and whole milk. Gelatine and berries contain none of the 14, but gelatine is made from animals, so this is not vegetarian as written.

Check every packet for allergens.

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