Creamy Vanilla Panna Cotta

Every time my father looks at a dessert menu, he chooses panna cotta–he loves it! We thought we would debunk the idea that you can only get creamy panna cotta from a restaurant. It really is not hard to make at home!

First, we prepared a fresh blueberry sauce. All you need is a large skillet, blueberries, water, sugar and a squeeze of lemon. The sauce takes less than 15 minutes. (Any extra sauce is a tasty topping for ice cream.)

Next, we made the panna cotta. The star here is a vanilla bean. It’s a bit expensive but is worth it. (You could substitute 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract if needed.)

To make sure we get every bit of flavor out of that vanilla bean, we steeped the vanilla bean in heavy cream and honey for about 30 minutes. Bring everything to boil, cover, remove from the heat and walk away.

Once the cream has steeped, remove the vanilla bean and add the rest of the ingredients, which are gelatin and buttermilk. The buttermilk adds just enough tartness to balance out the honey and vanilla.

Assemble the panna cottas. Drop a tablespoon or two of blueberry sauce into the bottom of each glass or ramekin, then carefully pour the panna cotta mixture over it. Some of the sauce may mix into the panna cotta mixture…don’t worry about that. 

Let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes, and then refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until firm. Enjoy!