First of all, to prepare our delicious panna cotta, soak the gelatine sheets in a bowl with cold water for about 20 minutes, until they are well softened. In the meantime, take the vanilla pod and, with a sharp knife, cut it lengthwise. With the tip of the knife, we delicately scrape out the seeds contained inside the pod, which we will use to flavor the cream.
We take a large and possibly non-stick saucepan, pour in the cream, the sugar and flavor everything with the seeds and the vanilla pod, then heat the cream over a low heat until it reaches the boil, at this point we turn off the heat and remove the vanilla pod.
Squeeze the gelatine from the water and add it to the saucepan with the hot cream, mix everything very well until the gelatine is well dissolved and there are no lumps. We therefore fill 4 molds with a capacity of approximately 150 ml each.
After leaving the panna cotta in the refrigerator overnight, it’s time to unmold it. Before doing so, we quickly immerse the molds in boiling water for a few seconds, so as to facilitate the detachment of the panna cotta. Once the molds have warmed up, we gently pull the panna cotta out of each one.
At this point, our panna cotta will be ready to be served, accompanied by a fruit sauce, chocolate or simply dusted with a little cocoa for a finishing touch.
How to store panna cotta:
We can store the panna cotta for up to 3 days in the refrigerator and in an airtight container
Useful tips:
Cream is the main ingredient, so opt for high-quality fresh cream. Using fresh ingredients, such as whole milk and natural vanilla, will make a big difference in the final taste.
In addition to vanilla, you can experiment with other flavors, such as lemon zest, orange, coffee, or chocolate. Simply add your desired flavoring while heating the cream and milk.