Panna Cotta With Peach-Raspberry Topping

I love panna cotta. It's a gelatin-based cream dessert, slightly firm, and it just melts in your mouth.  I've shared some panna cotta experiences a few times, with a New Year's Eve dinner and an excuse to buy a new silicone mold.

It's such an easy dessert to make.  As it's made the night before it's a delicious and impressive dessert to serve for company. No one will ever know it took less than 30 minutes to make!

One of my food board friends recently went to a cooking demonstration.  She commented on the peach panna cotta they had. I've been craving the dessert ever since.  So I took my favorite panna cotta recipe (The Barefoot Contessa) and made a peach and raspberry topping for it. Oh, my, it was delicious!  My husband had two helpings! 

Panna Cotta

1/2 packet (1 teaspoon) unflavored gelatin powder
1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1/3 cup sugar

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin on the 1 1/2 tablespoons of cold water.  Stir and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to dissolve.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup of the cream, the yogurt, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds.  Heat the remaining 3/4 cup of cream and the 1/3 cup of sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Off the heat, add the softened gelatin to the hot cream and stir to dissolve.  Pour the hot cream-gelatin mixture into the cold cream-yogurt mixture and stir to combine. Pour into 4 (6-8 ounce) ramekins or custard cups ** and refrigerate uncovered until cold. When the panna cottas are thoroughly chilled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

To serve, run a small knife around each dessert in the ramekin and dip the bottom of each ramekin quickly in a bowl of hot tap water. Invert each ramekin onto a dessert plate and top with peach-raspberry mixture.

**  I usually use silicone molds, they pop out quite easily.

Peach-Raspberry Topping

2 peaches, peeled and cut into small pieces
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon Grand Marnier liqueur
1/2 pint raspberries

Combine peaches, sugar and liqueur.  Let sit for 10 minutes for juices to develop.  Gently stir in the raspberries.

Don't throw away the used vanilla bean!  I keep a jar of vanilla sugar on my counter.  I add vanilla beans and sugar to it periodically.  I use this sugar for baking, making ice cream, any recipe that calls for sugar and vanilla.