Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta

Velvettly rich indulgence, not overly sweet, looks beautiful, and soooo easy. Celebrate and serve it with champagne! Vary the fruit or fruit sauce accompaniment per your tastes. For me, bursting fat blackberries are where it's at with this dessert.

Prep Time: 10 minutes Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

2/3 cup granulated sugar

pinch of salt

Seeds from one vanilla bean, or 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste * (may substitute 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)

Optional: a few drops of pure raspberry extract (careful, this is a potent extract, you just want a faint flavor here)

2 packets unflavored gelatin (5 tsp or 0.5 ounce)

1 pint of berries

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place heavy cream, milk, sugar, and salt into a small sauce pan. On low heat, heat mixture, stirring until sugar has thoroughly dissolved and the cream is hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat, stir in preferred extracts.

Let cool slightly while you bloom the gelatin in water according to the package instructions.

Add the gelatin in a thin stream to the cooled cream, stirring well until completely incorporated and smooth.

Pour into desired serving glasses and chill until firm, approximately 2 hours.

Serving Suggestion: Place a few berries in the bottom of individual serving dishes, pour in the Panna Cotta mixture, then top with additional berries. I like to serve this in shot glasses for parties, obviously meaning the number of servings will increase.

*Having a vanilla bean on hand isn't always practical or cost effective. I discovered vanilla bean paste in culinary school. The quality, meaning the concentration of vanilla beans, in the paste, varies quite a lot. Very high quality paste is extraordinarily expensive and not sold in small quantities for home use. For home baking, I use this vanilla bean paste, and it is a quality product.