Vanilla Panna Cotta

Ingredients

• 500 ml double cream
• 100 ml whole milk
• 70 g caster sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, split and scraped
• 3 sheets of leaf gelatine
• 200 g raspberries, to serve

Method

1. Soften the gelatine

   Soak the leaves in cold water for 5 minutes until floppy, then squeeze them out hard. Squeeze properly — the water they carry dilutes the cream and weakens the set.

   5 min

2. Infuse, do not boil

   Warm the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla until steaming and the sugar has dissolved, then take it off the heat. Boiled cream tastes cooked and slightly caramelised, which is not what this is.

3. Melt the gelatine in

   Stir the squeezed gelatine into the hot cream until completely dissolved. If the cream has cooled too far it will string rather than dissolve — reheat gently if so.

4. Use less gelatine than you think

   Strain into moulds or glasses and chill at least 4 hours. Three sheets to 600 ml gives a panna cotta that barely holds its shape and quivers when you set it down. More gelatine makes it slice neatly and taste rubbery, which is the usual mistake.

   4 h

5. Turn out and serve

   Dip each mould in hot water for 3 seconds and invert onto a plate. Serve with raspberries crushed with a little sugar.