Vanilla Panna Cotta with Berries

Sweden got hit by a snowstorm last night - well, it's still snowing - and we're again drenched in snow. The buses aren't working, and most people can't get to work. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty ready for spring to come...

Panna Cotta is such a simple, and lovely dessert, and I think it works all year round. The only problem is to use the right amount of gelatine - you want it to be set, but not too firm. I always serve it out of glasses or cups rather than trying to unmold it, so I usually err on the side of too little gelatine. For me, I find that 1 sheet of gelatine for every 200 ml of cream works well enough.

And about the cream - it's called different things in different countries. We call it whipping cream, but others call it double or heavy cream. You want something plain, definitely NOT sweetened, and with a fat content of about 35-40%.

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Berries
Serves 5

400 ml heavy cream (35-40% fat content)
4 tbsp sugar
1 vanilla bean
2 gelatine leaves

Berry topping:
100 g raspberries (frozen, then thawed, or fresh)
100 g blueberries (frozen, then thawed, or fresh)
2 tbsp sugar

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water. Heat cream, sugar and the scraped seeds from the vanilla bean until it's just starting to boil. Remove from heat.

Squeeze the water from the gelatine, and stir them into the warm cream. Make sure they dissolve completely.

Pour into glasses or cups, and place in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours.

For the topping - thaw the berries if they're frozen. Stir with the sugar, until the sugar has dissolved. Spoon carefully on top of the panna cottas, and serve right away.

Recipe in Swedish:
Vaniljpannacotta med rårörda bär