Vanilla Panna Cotta

serves 6

395 mins

Desserts

This is a fabulous dessert that is deliciously creamy and complemented beautifully by the sweet crunchy, nutty praline. You can make everything ahead of time and pull it out of the fridge when you’re ready to serve.

Ingredients

Panna Cotta

1 litre Anchor Cream

50g caster sugar

2 vanilla pods, split and seeds scraped out (or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste – not essence)

3 tsp gelatine powder

Praline

100g caster sugar

2 tbsp cold water

1/3 cup slivered almonds

Instructions

Panna Cotta: Place the cream, sugar, vanilla seeds and scraped pods in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir until the sugar has dissolved completely, then remove from the heat.
Remove the vanilla pods from the saucepan, add the gelatine powder and whisk until dissolved completely.
Tip the mixture into a pouring jug and divide evenly between 6 ramekins. Place the ramekins in the fridge for at least 5-6 hours or overnight.
Praline: Line a baking tray with baking paper. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan on a low-medium heat. Cook, swirling the saucepan, for 3-4 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.
Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. Boil, without stirring, for 5 minutes or until the mixture turns golden. Watch it carefully – you don’t want it to get too dark in the saucepan as it will continue to colour after you remove it from the heat.
Once golden, remove from the heat and pour onto the prepared tray. Scatter over the almonds and allow to cool completely.
Remove the individual panna cotta from the fridge one hour before serving. Smash up the praline and use to garnish the top of each panna cotta.